Sly Cooper and the Phantom Manor
by King of 2211
Summary: On a class field trip to New Thunder Mesa, Texas , Sly, his friends, plus his class and chaperoning teacher find themselves in the ghost town known as Old Thunder Mesa; more specifically, the old Ravenswood mansion. Xovers also include two webcomics. Pairings: SlyxCarmelita, BentleyxPenelope, and many more.
1. Prologue: Tale of the Ravenswoods

**Hey-o, everyone! It me again, the King of 2211, forming at you with yet another Sly Cooper fic in a haunted house, only this time, it's based on the "Phantom Manor" ride in Disneyland Paris. I admit, I've never really been to Paris, or any other country outside the U.S., besides Niagara Falls, Canada, but I hope this'll be enough. Anyway, Sly Cooper is owned by Sanzaru and SuckerPunch, the rides and characters from them belong to Disney, Peter and Company is owned by Jonathan Ponikvar, The Roomies are owned by its owner, but the one OC is mine. Enjoy!**

* * *

Prologue: Tales of the Ravenswoods

* * *

Old Thunder Mesa, Texas.

One of the largest ghost towns and popular tourist attractions next to the Alamo.

Our story in this quaint, little ghost town begins with one of the most haunted house in all of Texas, the abandoned Ravenswoods mansion. You may not believe it, but beauty once lived in this house . . . And beauty lives here still. I tell no lie, during the 1800s this ghost town was once a flourishing boomtown, which was also the base of one of the largest mining companies during those times.

The story truly begins with a prospecting man who owned the mansion and went by the name of Henry Ravenswood, a wealthy businessman, who was also the founder of the Thunder Mesa Mining Company at Big Thunder Mountain and lived on Boot Hill with his wife, Martha. It would also be on this hill, which overlooked the boomtown and river below, that the couple would have a daughter and only child, of whom they loved very much, Melanie Ravenswood.

Big Thunder Mountain was thought by the local Native American tribe to be home to a powerful spirit known as the Thunder Bird, which would take the form of unnaturally large bird of prey. According to the local legends, it's wrath could be materialized into a nasty storm or a terrible earthquake. However, Ravenswood believe in such ridiculous stories and urged his workers to continue. Though he was warned more than once about how angry the spirits of the mountain would become if the settlers did not stop mining, he mere shrugged them off. As time went by, the gold in Big Thunder Mountain began to run short, which also made the miners dig deeper into the mountain.

Melanie would grow from a little girl to a beautiful young woman, who had caught the eyes of the many young men in Thunder Mesa, though Melanie had eyes for one. As she grew, she would meet a young boy, who would grow up to be a train engineer and fall in love with Melanie; a feeling that she would return. It was not long after that the engineer had proposed to take the hand of the Ravenswood heiress' hand in marriage, which she had happily accepted. Though Henry was happy for his daughter at first and consented with plans for the wedding, he later found out that his daughter's beau wanted to take her away from Thunder Mesa, which enraged the matriarch and had vowed to do everything in his power to keep them from being wed.

His useless attempts never went into motion a titanic earthquake had struck Thunder Mesa in 1860, which had led to the death of Henry and Martha. It appears that the warnings that were ignored had come true, lead to the awakening of the Thunder Bird; the Ravenswood family was never seen again after that.

After being buried for several years, the story of what really happened had finally came out of the rubble . . .

On Melanie's wedding day months after the funeral of her departed parents, a mysterious and unknown spectral figure called the "Phantom" had appeared at the manor. As Melanie was busy preparing in her room, the Phantom lured her suite to the attic where he was hanged by the neck from the rafters.

In the ballroom, the bride sat all alone and as the hours went by, there was still of the groom anywhere. Guests slowly filed away, leaving Melanie alone in the house with the mansion's staff of maids and butlers. "Some day", she would tell herself, "he will come". And so, never taking off her dress or dropping her bouquet of flows, in preparation of her loved one's return, she wandered the house aimlessly, singing melancholy songs of lost love.

The Phantom, who still lurked deep in the mansion, laughed at her human devotion to her intended husband. One after another, the Phantom would in invite his dead, demonic friends from the afterlife to fill the house in an eternal party. The shape of the house was slowly transformed by the forces of evil.

Years passed.

Inside and outside, the Victorian mansion had slowly started to decay. Dusty cobwebs covered every inch, the disheartened staff not caring or it was rumored that Melanie had lost her mind. She wondered the for years and years, softly singing to her groom, while all around her the ghosts and demons would revel and dance. No matter where she would go around the mansion or how many times she'd pass by, Melanie was constant reminded of the wedding she wish she had, but never happened. As she did all this, the manor was filled to the brim by the Phantom's eternally cruel laughter as it carried through the walls of the house. Outside, the once beautiful grounds began to fall apart and quickly started to crumble. The gilded staircase and structure were dotted with mold and every tree and plant that grew on the grounds surrounding the property died almost instantly.

As if sensing that evil had inherited and took over the mansion, inside and out, nothing living ever trotted there anymore. None the less, Melanie kept hold of her hopes and dreams, waiting for the love of her life to return one day, but never truly figured why he had "left" in the first place.

The earthquake that took the life of Melanie's parents had cut a huge gouge in the west hall of the property and in the now crumbling ghost town of Old Thunder Mesa. The deserted buildings were rumored to be called "Phantom Canyon", the dark supernatural area of the town and anyone who had dared to enter the ghastly old town late at night would never be seen again.

To this day, no one knows if Melanie Ravenswood is still alive in the old mansion atop Boot Hill, but if she did, she'd be over one hundred years old. The sound of her beautiful voice still carries and echoes over the town at night though, through the walls of the mansion and wind at night. It has even been reported that unexplained lights have been sighted inside the house itself.

Some nights, when the moon is full and the sky is clear of clouds, you can still hear the lonely mourning of the bride, the maniacal laughter of the Phantom, and the faint tinkle of glass and laughter of party guests. Whether or not she is still alive, what is well-known is that the poor Melanie never left the crumbling mansion, even with the occupying spirits, as she still waits for her groom until Judgement Day.

Many believe the Phantom to be the spirit of her father, Henry Ravenswood, seeking vengeance from beyond the grave; others believe it to be a spirit of pure evil and was brought unto the young Melanie Ravenswood.

That story had been told over and over among the residence of New Thunder Mesa for almost two hundred years . . . but a new story begins as a class of High School students would dare to brave what's inside . . . and finally free the tormented from its walls . . .


	2. Field Trip

Chapter One: Field Trip

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**Dream Sequence**

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_The young man was walking through a long, decaying hallway, though he didn't know what he was or how he had got there in the first place. He also didn't know where he was walking to as he didn't even recognize his surroundings, but it appeared that he was in someone else home. Who had lived here or why they would, seeing how it was dusty and filled with cobwebs, was unknown to the young man. It was then that he heard something coming from the two opened doors he had passed and as he listened closely, he started to realize that it was a voice. A feminine voice to be exact. Not just any feminine voice, but one of the most beautiful voices the young man had ever heard in his life and it was clear that the voice singing. Though he was hesitant at first, the young man walked towards the double doors, reached for the handle, then opened them as he entered the room. To his surprise, the room itself was one huge ballroom that was also covered in cobwebs and dust; meaning that it was abandoned for quite some time as the young man continued to look around, until he heard the singing voice once again, only this time, it was closer._

_As he continued deeper into the ballroom, the young man saw that he wasn't alone as there was a figure standing near the opened balcony. Even as moonlight shined over the figure, the young man couldn't make heads or tails on whether who or what it was. It was then that the young man realized that the source of the signing was coming from the figure. It also appeared that the figure was female from as far from what the young man could make out through the darkness._

_"Hello?" The young man called out, causing the figure to whip around and look at him._

_"My love, could it really be you?" The figure asked in a surprised tone, which had a southern accent, but was obscured by darkness to show any facial expression._

_Before the young man could reply or say anything else, a loud maniacal laughter had caught his ears. The figured whirled around to see yet another figure in the ballroom with him and the female. However, thus figure was distinctively different and not just because it appeared to be and sounded like a male. Though the young man could only make out that the figure was wearing old-fashioned clothing and a top hat, he blood ran cold as he saw what he was looking at. The figure's entire head was nothing but a skull! There was no flesh or **any** sign the flesh had ever cover it whatsoever! Though he already knew another with traits like this, this figure wasn't that person! The young man could only stare in horror as the skeletal figure continued its maniacal laughter, then charged at him . . ._

* * *

**End** **Dream** **Sequence**

* * *

Starting up in his bed was a young male raccoon as he looked at his surroundings in a cold sweat that he caught from his dream. Dream nothing; that would have been a nightmare to any other person! The raccoon appeared to be fifteen years of age with a lithe yet toned build that had grey fur all over his body with a black "mask" over his eyes and rings on his bushy tail, pointed ears and muzzle, short grey hair, and dark-brown eyes. He now wore a black long-sleeved thermal-pajama shirt and matching pajama pants that he packed for the trip. This raccoon was known to many as Sylvester James Cooper, or just plain "Sly" to his family and friends around his small hometown of Swallow Falls, Louisiana. Though he wasn't in his hometown at the moment or in Louisiana for the matter, but in Texas on a field trip with his class. More specifically, they were in New Thunder Mesa, one of the largest small towns and tourist attractions in all of Texas.

Though there were many things that attracted tourism to this town, the one thing it was famous for was the ghost town known as "Old Thunder Mesa". What made the ghost town so popular was what was a Victorian mansion built on Boot Hill, which was known as the Ravenswood mansion. There were many stories of how it wad haunted by ghosts and demonic spirits, but the most tragic of all was the story of Melanie Ravenswood. Though there were a lot of differences, the old mansion reminded the raccoon of a haunted house back in Swallow Falls.

Anyway, the raccoon looked around to see he was in the one of the hotel rooms that were rented for his class during their one week stay. He looked over to his left to see two more beds with sleeping figures in both. The first one was a young turtle with green skin, who was wearing earplugs, brown shell, lanky build, short brown hair, and green eyes (if they were opened). He wore a red pajama shirt, matching pajama pants, and a night-cap. The second person was a young hippo, who was the tallest and snoring loudly, who had a muscular build with pink skin, floppy ears, and dark-brown eyes (if _his_ eyes were open). He was completely topless, leaving his barreled chest exposed and only wear a pair of white pajama short pants. These two were Sly's best friends, Bentley Olsen, the youngest genius from Swallow Falls, and Murray Murphy, the muscle man with an appetite to their trio. Though most would be confused that an athlete like Sly, geek like Bentley, and jock like Murray would be the best of friends, it was because their fathers were friends growing up as well.

The raccoon then stood up from his bed, then walked over to the bathroom that he and his friends, turned on the light and the sink to washed his face, then looked into the mirror. Even before going on the field trip, Sly had received these dreams for weeks, though he had little to no idea why. The dreams would usually just be through the hallway and would wake up before he entered the ballroom, he even dreamed about the maniacal laughter, but it was tonight that all of these came together. It was also the first time that he dreamt of someone would could hear and respond to him as if the dream itself were reality.

"Had that dream again, what could it mean?" Sly whispered to himself as not to wake up his friends, then took something out of his pocket. "Do you know what's happening?"

The thing he was talking to was a small dark-Navy-blue sapphire gem, which he had taken from somewhere back in Swallow Falls known as the Gracey manor, which was the one of the most haunted areas there. Anyway, the gem itself appeared to be authentic, possibly meaning that it could be worth a lot of money, but the raccoon knew better than that. After what he and his friends went through at the Gracey manor a few weeks back, long story, and seeing as though he was the only one who noticed and found it, there was no way he'd pass on a possible curse to _anyone_. Another thing to note was that no one else knew Sly had the gem in his possession, not even his own friends; best not to have them worried on the field trip as he was with his strange dreams. The raccoon turned the light off, then made his way back to his bed as his eyes caught the sight of the clock on the nightstand. Barely a quarter after midnight, not that late, but he needed to go back to sleep to get a fresh start in the morning. After all, he and the rest of his classed absolutely despised waking up early, but it would be worth it after seeing the sights around town.

"What are you hiding . . ?" Sly asked, then placed the gem back into his pocket, laid upon his pillow, then nodded off.

* * *

"Sly, is something wrong?" Bentley asked, gaining his friend's and everyone else's attention.

Sly was now dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt, black hoodie jacket, dark-blue jean pants, black nylon gloves, blue cap, brown backpack, and a pair of blue hightop shoes.

The next day was one of great excitement, even though they were only on their third day of the trip, there was much to be seen on their seven-day stay (rhyme). Others on the trip were as followed: Carmelita Montoya Fox, Penelope Toutonghi, Harold "Harry" Dion, Peter Ponikvar, Whitney Johnson, Cherry Renard, Roger Williams, Ivan "Iggy" Sullivan, Kel Ferdinand, Mary Ann Tigress, Swain "Swirly" Jenkins, Peng King, Dimitri Lousteau, Miranda Grace, Victoria and David Collins, Victor Franklin, Chelsea Benson, Neyla Glidewell, Carlos Dalton, Sheila Morris and chaperoning teachers, Mr. Gary Korman, or Guru as some called him, and the guidance counselor, Ms. Mikaela Morris. For a small town like Thunder Mesa, it had dozens upon dozens of places to see and go to for the whole class. As with all groups, the class was divided into teams of six:

1. Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Carmelita

2. Whitney, Penelope, Victoria, and Sheila

3. Mary, Swirly, Cherry, and Neyla

4. Peter, Iggy, Kel, and David

5. Andy, Harry, Carlos, and Victor

6. Peng, Dimitri, Chelsea, and Roger

Though it was fun sightseeing and going through various shops with spending money, mostly for souvenirs to give to their families back in Swallow Falls, but for some, like Murray (with his huge appetite), would spend it in treats and snacks (some he would save till he got home so that he could share with his parents). Everyone was even able to eat at seven different diners with their own special dish, each named after a figure or area from Old and New Thunder Mesa. Though everyone was having fun on the trip, Sly seemed troubled and a bit distracted most of the time, which made his friends and teachers worried for his well-being. Bentley was now wearing a brown polo shirt, grey hoodie jacket, white nylon gloves, blue jeans, square-rimmed glasses and grey Nikes; while Murray wore a grey short-sleeved shirt, green hoodie jacket, grey nylon gloves, dark-blue jean shorts, and red hightop shoes.

Another of his friends that were present was a vixen named Carmelita Montoya Fox, the daughter of Sheriff Alexander and Alisa Fox (nee Montoya), the oldest of three sisters, and second oldest of six siblings. She, like one of her brothers and one of her sisters, took after her mother as she was more on the Latino/Hispanic side of their family. The vixen, again like her mother, had a very curvaceous figure with brownish-orange, mole under her left eye, pointed ears and muzzle, long bushy tail, long waist-length blue hair that was tied in a braid at shoulder level, and dark-hazelnut colored eyes. She wore a blue short-sleeved shirt that stopped a few inches above her bellybutton, light-brown leather jacket, yellow nylon gloves, dark-blue jeans, and brown boots. Though inheriting her mother's looks, she also inherited her father's sense of justice and his (sometimes A-bomb type) explosive temper. That didn't mean she was a bad person, far from it, she was as kind and friendly as they come. It would be best if you didn't, if your life depended on it, push her buttons or limit.

It was odd, to say in the least, to see that the four of these youths were the best of friends, seeing how different they were, but they could care less. Sheriff Fox was also friends with Sly's father, Conner who was the town's pharmacist and travel agent, Bentley's father who was a computer repairman, Matthew, and Murray's father who owned the town's sporting goods store, Barry. It could also be noted that ever seen each other for the first time, the raccoon (and secretly vixen) had become smitten. Though there were in the friendliest of terms till they turn eleven, the vixen finally became a good friend to the trio when they when on a, disclosed, adventure.

"Can you be a little more specific?" Sly asked, trying to hide his troubled features.

"Don't give us that, ringtail!" Carmelita snapped, which shocked everyone including the vixen herself. "Sorry, Sly, but you know we're talking about."

"Yeah, you looked distracted all day, something buggin you?" Murray asked his friend in concern.

The raccoon sighed loudly as he rubbed the back of his head; he knew that there would be no talking himself out of this.

"Okay, I guess I should get this off my chest." Sly said wistfully. "I promise I'll tell you guys, but it'll have to wait until later; let's just enjoy the sights for now."

Though they wanted to press the matter further, they knew the raccoon was right for the time being and decided to leave off on that note. The rest of the day actually went by pretty steadily as they went about the usual routine of their stay. It was a little later that the four caught up with Peng, Dimitri, and Penelope, who also saw how troubled Sly looked and became concerned as well. The seven had agreed to meet up at the lobby of the hotel, barely anyone would be there at the time and it would be the perfect place to talk in privacy. It was here that the four were now standing with a mouse, a panda, and an iguana about their age.

The mouse had a lithe frame with pink fur, long fleshy tail, pointed muzzle, big rounded ears, long blonde hair that reached the middle of her back and was tied in a ponytail, and light-hazelnut eyes. She wore a yellow T-shirt, dark blue overalls, black hoodie jacket, yellow nylon gloves, round rimmed glasses, and black Nikes. This rodent was Penelope Toutonghi, the second smartest youth from Swallow Falls and good friends with Sly's group. She also had a huge crush on Bentley, who had an even _bigger_ crush on her.

The panda had a muscular build that had the usually black and white coloring as any panda (save for the blue patches over his eyes), bald head, small rounded ears, flat muzzle, short puff tail, and dark-brown fur. He wore a red T-shirt shirt with yellow sleeves, dark-blue hoodie jacket, dark-blue jeans, red fingerless gloves, white Nikes. This person was Peng King, a former bully that was a member of the Fiendish Five; one of the two meanest gangs before they broke up. He was also part of the gang's Karate class and, quite ironically, he had a loving grandmother and sister, of whom which he was trying to "protect" them, hence why he was so means and a part of a gang.

Finally, the iguana had a lanky build with purple scales, rectangular muzzle, no ears, long tail, long shoulder-length dark-blue hair, and line-green eyes. He wore a red T-shirt, green leather jacket, matching green pants, golden chain-necklace around his neck, and black boots. This marine reptile was Dimitri Lousteau, who was also a bully and member of the Klaww Gang, the main rival of the Fiendish Five that had also disbanded. Upon getting to him, it was revealed that he was a great scuba diver and had a thing for Disco.

Yes, it was quite odd that they were friends with the gang as they were the objects of their respective gangs bullying ways, but it wasn't until Sly "spoke his mind" that they all broke up and never bullied again. It was actually a few weeks earlier that they became real friends through an unexpected "escapade", long story, and were notably kinder and friendlier. Though most would see the iguana's fashion sense as drab, he still had a lot of female admirers as much as critics; a trait he inherited by his father. The panda also worked part-time at the chinese food place in town with his aunt and cousin to become more responsible as to redeem his "bad boy" phase. Anyway, upon seeing that they were in a good place to converse, Sly stood in front of his six friends and looking to them with the most serious look he could muster.

"Okay, well, obviously we're all here because you're all worried about my well-being." Sly stated.

"Darn right, we are." Penelope stated, always there to help a friend.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Carmelita added.

"Bingo, Cooper-o." Dimitri said with his own jive talk.

"Guys, let's hear him out, please?" Bentley asked, which received collective nods.

"Alright, Sly, you were about to explain." Peng encouraged.

Unbeknownst to the seven in the room, they were secretly being listened in on by the rest of their classmates on the field trip, who were taking special precaution as to not be detected. Needless to say it wasn't easy as the Cooper and Fox families' senses were thoroughly more acute than any normal person they knew. They were as followed: three cats, a lion, a pantheress, two tigresses, another vixen, two golden retrievers, a duck, a toy terrier, a gecko, a skunk a ferret, a badger, and a bear.

One of the cats was a male tabby that had a lean build with dark-brown fur, flat muzzle, pointed ears, long tail, short brown hair, and light-brown eyes. He wore a lime-green T-shirt, dark-blue hoodie jacket, dark-grey pants, and black Nikes. This person was Peter Ponikvar, son of the town's (Swallow Falls) psychologist, Robert Ponikvar and his wife, Celine. He was also the younger twin brother of his sister, Elizabeth "Ezzy" Ponikvar. He also had a reputation of being for being imaginative, yet he lacked the restraint, but was still a good person and lively company.

The second cat was female with a womanly figure that had light-lavender colored fur, flat muzzle, pointed ears, long tail, long dark-lavender hair that reached below her shoulder-blades, and bright violet eyes. She wore a teal colored T-shirt, grey hoodie jacket, grey pants, and grey lowtop shoes. This was Whitney Johnson, daughter and only child of Willard Johnson. She was pretty popular around school and fun to hang out with; she was also the crush of Peter Ponikvar. Another thing to note about her was that she was a _huge_ fanatic about fashion.

The third cat was a male house cat with an average build that had white fur with brown patches (including one large spot over his right eye), flat muzzle, pointed ears, long tail, short wavy brown hair, and light-green eyes. He wore a white long-sleeved t-shirt with purple sleeves, dark green short pants and black Vans. This person was Andrew "Andy" Katt, a shy guy most of the time, but was very kind and cool to hang out with. He was also a member of the Swallow Falls High Photography Club and one of the best photographers in (their) town.

The lion had a well toned build that had brown fur with white in the inside of his muzzle (and over his hands), long tail with a puff of brown fur, pointed ears, flat muzzle, long hazelnut colored hair (with pink bangs) and goatee, and dark-blue eyes. He wore a black T-shirt, grey jacket, black jeans, and dark-grey Vans. This was Harold "Harry" Dion, a member of the Swallow Falls High Photography Club along with Andy, who was his best friend. He was a bit of a laid back sort of person, but he was a cool guy.

The first tigress had a body like a supermodel with the regularly colored fur of orange all around and white on the inside of her muzzle, pointed ears, flat muzzle, long ringed tail, long blonde hair with a black patch in the front of her bangs, and bright green eyes. She wore a grey button-up shirt, green tank top, green jacket, green hoodie jacket, black jeans, and red Vans. This little lady was Mary Ann Tigress, or just plain "Mary" as she preferred to be called and was the most cheerful people you would ever meet. She was a country girl who lived in a farm back in Swallow Falls, who had dreams of being a model one day. She also had a crush on Andy, which was secretly and unknown to her, rivaled by another from their class.

The second tigress was just as curvaceous and had the same markings as any other, but had purple fur and not orange and white, long tail, pointed ears, flat muzzle, short wavy raven-black hair, and cold green eyes. She wore a dark-blue T-shirt, red hoodie jacket, dark brown short pants that were held up by a brown leather belt, and black boots. The tigress was none other than Neyla Glidewell, a former member of the now broken up Klaww Gang; the very same gang Dimitri was a part of. Since she was beautiful, one of the most beautiful girls in school, she used these looks to gain popularity and use it against any guy she came by. It wasn't after Sly "spoke his mind" that she stopped bullying and never flirted again.

The skunk had a slim figure with white and blue fur in swirls all around her body, bushy tail, pointed ears, long black hair with white bangs, and jade-green eyes. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt, grey jeans, and black slip on shoes. This was Swain Jenkins, or "Swirly" as she was called on account of her unique fur coloring and was a known gamer girl, which made her good friends with Sly and friends. She also had a secret crush on Andy, which was unknown to her, rivaled by her best friend, Mary.

The other vixen had a womanly figure with reddish fur and white in her muzzle, bushy tail, pointed ears and muzzle, long red hair, and amber-colored eyes. She wore a white button-up shirt, white jacket, dark-blue jeans, and black low-heel boots. She was known as Cherry (no joke, that's what she's called) Renard, who was a bit of a feminist, seeing men as the most vilest beings on Earth and would always give them a special glare. This would make her somewhat of a guardian to the girls in Swallow Falls, but unofficial bullies to the boys. Though as of recently, she hasn't done anything feminist related as she was one of the people Sly "spoke his mind" to and took his words to heart.

The duck had an average build with white feathers, bronze billed beak, short white hair, and dark-brown eyes. He wore a green long-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and brown mounted shoes. This was Carlos Dalton, one of Peter's best friends, who was the most mature of their group.

The gecko had a lanky build with dark green scales with darker green spots, bald head, long tail, and blue eyes. He wore. This was Ivan Sullivan or "Iggy" as he was called since he acted like a little kid and not his own age and one of Peter's best friends. He was also a boy scout and wilderness survival expert, despite his childish nature.

Both the golden retrievers were male and female and thought the female was older and had a very womanly figure, where as the male had a regular build, they both shared brownish-gold fur, pointed ears and muzzles, brown hair (the boy had short hair, while the girl had long hair), and brown eyes. The girl wore a white short sleeve shirt, black jacket, brown pants, and heeled boots. The boy wore a red T-shirt, brown hoodie jacket, light-blue jeans that was held up by a black leather belt, and red lowtop shoes. These two were brother and sister, Victoria and David Collins, who came from the Collins, one of the oldest families who lived in Swallow Falls for generations. They both had a knack for gothic literature, but were goth in any way, but they were fun to hang out with, David was also quite knowledgeable for someone his age. The reason he was on the field trip was because his parents were able convince their principle to allow it so, plus the siblings were inseparable. It was also known that Victoria had a crush on a certain science-loving toy terrier from their hometown.

The badger was somewhat almost as muscular as Murray with black and white fur in the usual marking as his kind had, short tail, pointed ears and muzzle, short neatly trimmed ebony-black hair, and amber-colored eyes. He wore a white short-sleeved T-shirt with black sleeves, black hoodie jacket, black baggy cargo pants, and black boots. This person was Roger Williams, captain of the Field and Track team, who was a good friend of Sly and his friends from their Karate class. This person was another with big dreams as he vowed to, one day, compete in the Olympics Summer Games when he was old enough.

The ferret had a very slim figure with dark-brown fur with patches over his eyes (a lighter brown from his muzzle down), pointed ears, short dark-brown hair, long tail, and light-brown eyes. He wore a light-blue long-sleeved T-shirt, black jeans, and black Nikes. This person was Kel Ferdinand, one of Peter's best friends and is always playing his DS wherever he can.

The bear was female with a slim figure that had light brown fur, short stubbed tail, rounded ears, long reddish-brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail, and light-hazelnut colored eyes. She wore a peach colored long-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and white Nikes. This person was Chelsea Benson, one of the popular girls back at Swallow Falls High and one of Whitney's best friends, though she was envious of her in some ways. One of the main reasons was that she knew Whit and Peter had a thing for each other, because Chelsea herself had a secret crush on him even though they were mortal enemies growing up.

The toy terrier had a normal built body pure white fur and black patches over his eyes, slanted muzzle, pointed ears, long tail, short messy raven-black hair, and electric-blue eyes. He wore a white long-sleeved button-up shirt, black jeans that were held up by a brown leather belt, and a pair of black Nikes. This person was Victor Franklin, one of the smartest youths from Swallow Falls, who was also ranked No. 5 on the top ten as Bentley was still the most intelligent, of whom which he idolized. He was a calm and quiet kid, but was very kind and was a really good tutor should anyone need help on their science homework; he also hid a huge crush on Victoria, seeing that she'd never go for a guy as geeky as he was.

Finally, the pantheress had a womanly with ebony-black fur, pointed ears, flat muzzle, long tail, long auburn hair, and dark-blue eyes. She wore a red blouse, matching red jacket, light-blue jeans, and black slip-on shoes. This person was Sheila Morris, the niece of Ms. Morris, of whom which was living with as her parents were archeologists and had to work abroad most of the time. This never, in anyway, meant that they never had time for their daughter, far from it, they kept in touch via video chat when they were away.

As to why they were listening in on the conversation on the other side of the door, they too saw that Sly and were all just as curious as the raccoon's friends. Though they knew all too well that what they were doing was wrong and that they'd be knew-deep in trouble if anyone found them out, their curiosity had gotten the better of them. Though Sly's ancestors were master thieves, a tradition that had ended with his great-grandfather, Thaddeus Winslow Cooper after a family member vanished with out a trace and decided to settle down. It was also because Sly and his friends were mostly there to everyone's rescue when there were bullies and it made everyone feel insignificant that they couldn't repay them in any way, but vowed to somehow make it up to them.

"Well, to tell you guys the truth, I've had these weird dreams lately." Sly admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Dreams?" Dimitri questioned.

"What kind of dreams?" Penelope asked in interest.

"Well, usually they're of me walking down a long hallway." Sly replied as he remembered. "But lately, I enter a ballroom and there's someone else there . . ."

"Who was it?" Peng asked.

"I don't know, but it was a woman and she was singing; she seemed sad about something . . ."

"Did you see who she was?" Carmelita asked in concern.

"She was obscured by shadows, it was hard to tell." Sly replied, then suddenly became tense. "Then it ends with . . . with . . ."

"With what?" Bentley asked, not liking how the way his friend was now talking.

"Yeah, what happens?" Murray urged, eager to hear what happens next.

"I turn around and there's a figure, then that's it, I wake up afterwards." Sly finished as he walked to a corner in the room. "Guys, there's something I need to tell you, after our little escapade a few weeks ago, I found something . . ."

"Wait, found something, what'd you find?" Peng asked in confusion.

"This . . ."

It was at that moment that the raccoon reached into his left pocket, then took out the sapphire gem for his friends to see and admire its glory. Upon expecting the gem closely and thoroughly, the group came to an immediate decision: the gem was all too real! It didn't show any sign of being plastic, glass, paper-mache, or any other type of synthetic material they could think of or pinpoint.

"_Je né crois pas que ce_ (I don't believe this)." Dimitri mumbled in French.

"Sly, do you realize what this is?" Penelope questioned in wide eye disbelief.

"It's a 100% pure sapphire gem!" Bentley exclaimed, then calmed when he was hushed by his friends. "Sorry, but Sly, where did you get this?"

This confused the class so much, what was Sly and his friends doing a few weeks ago that allowed him to get his hands on a sapphire gem? Why were they talking in secret? Was it really that bad? Before they could listen in on anything else they were talking about . . .

"What are all of you doing?"

Upon hearing this new, the class whipped around to be faced with a middle-aged male koala and a pantheress in her mid-thirties, both of which were looking at the class with looks that demanded explanation. The koala was small and pudgy with purple fur with dark markings, rounded ears, flat muzzle, stubby tail, short lavender hair with a small braided tail on both sides, medium-sized beard, and dark-brown eyes. He wore a white long-sleeved dress-shirt with a black tie, black blazer jacket, red headband, brown slacks that were held up by a brown leather belt, and black leather shoes. This person was known as Mr. Gary Korman or "Guru" as many called him on account of his wise and sage-like personality, which made him one of the most liked teacher at Swallow Falls High. A fun fact to know about him was that he was an Australian immigrant of Aborigine and Cherokee descent, which was why he wore the head band everywhere he went.

The pantheress had a very curvaceously-slim body that was covered from head to toe with ebony-black fur, long tail, pointed ears, flat muzzle, long snowy-white hair that was tied back in a ponytail, . She . This person was Mikaela Morris, the youthful guidance counselor of Swallow Falls High, who was also the eye candy to the guys in town. She was once a supermodel, but wasn't truly happy and after earning a degree in College decided to become a guidance counselor in Swallow Falls since it was her hometown. She was also the loving aunt of Sheila, who saw her as the daughter she never had, which made her think of adopting in the near future.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of the teachers, who were both akimbo, Peter, who was the nearest to the door, accidentally turned the knob and caused the whole class to fall into the room. After a few minuets of being dazed, the class stood up and immediately saw that Sly and his friends were staring straight at the!

"Oh, sorry, wrong room!" Carlos quickly said, but the chaperoning teachers blocked the doorway, preventing anyone from leaving.

"Wow, I must really be out of it, otherwise I would've known people were eavesdropping!" Sly scowled, which was followed by his friends.

"Sly, guys, hey . . ." Andy chuckled nervously.

"Uh, it's not what it looks like?" Harry said, tried to dissuade any form of pointed fingers.

"Oh, so then all of you weren't listening in on our private conversation like bunch of, and I use this term figuratively, rats and flies?" Bentley demanded, but making sure he didn't insult his rodent friend.

"Okay, maybe it _is_ what it looks like." Chelsea admitted shamefully.

"We can explain!" Peter exclaimed with his hands up.

"Well then, we're listening." Guru stated in a disappointed tone.

"Sheila, I though your parents and I taught you better than that." Ms. Morris stated with a just as disappointed tone to her niece.

"Can we explain first?" Sheila asked in defensive.

"Well, if you're going to explain why you eavesdrop on private conversations the way you did, I'd get to it if I were you" Carmelita bitterly encouraged with her arms crossed.

"And it better be good." Sly added just as bitterly, when he suddenly felt a vibration. "But first, I gotta take this all."

It was then that the raccoon took out his phone, but as soon as he looked at it, he saw that no one was calling him and the volume was loud enough to alert him. Odd, if it wasn't his phone that was vibrating, then what was it? It was when the vibration began to escalate when he realized that it was coming from the sapphire in his other hand. As soon as he opened his fingers, he and everyone else saw that the sapphire was beginning to glow brighter and brighter by each second. Okay, it was official, Sly's life was really starting to get even weirder. It was then that a huge breeze appeared out of nowhere in the room and slammed the door, preventing any means of escape or entry.

"What's going on?!" Guru yelped in shocked.

"What is this?!" Cherry demanded, becoming more and more frightened.

"Is this part of the field trip?!" Kel questioned, though it was highly unlikely.

"Something tells me we're about to find out!" Sly shouted, unable to let go of the gem from his grasp.

It was at that moment that the room was flooded by the ever-growing light of the sapphire, which was blinding enough as a solar flare and with the frightful screams of the entire class. After a few minuets of bright lights and screaming, the lights began to fade away until it completely dissipated as if it was never there at all. Not only that, but the entire class had seemed to have vanished from the room. In fact, there was nothing there to prove that anyone was present there to begin with; nothing to prove _any_ living life at all. One might think that this phenomenon was of a great tragedy, but it was quite the opposite . . . it was the start of a brand new adventure.


	3. Welcome, Curious Friends

Chapter 2: Welcome, Curious Friends

* * *

A night sky that was full of clouds as far as the eye could see; that was what Sly first saw as soon as his eyes snapped open wide and vision cleared of blurs. He looked around him, only to see that there was not enough light to see, but he could tell that the he wasn't alone. Scattered and groaning around him were his friends, the rest of the class that were on the field trip, even their teacher and guidance counselor were present and accounted for.

"Oh . . . what hit me?" Sly asked as soon as he found his voice, then sat straight up. "Where am I?"

Looking to his left, the raccoon saw the unconscious form of his turtle best friend, laying on his stomach and unmoving, save for him breathing and mumbling. Making sure that Bentley was unharmed in any way, Sly crawled towards the turtle, then turned him onto his back and saw that he was missing his glasses. It was a relief to hear that the turtle was still alive as Sly shook him a bit to fully wake him up, which seemed to be working.

"Bentley, Bentley, you alright?"

"Twinkle . . . shprinkle . . . brightest star . . ." The turtle replied in a dazed tone, with Russian accent, even gesturing with his hands.

"Snap out of it, Bentley!" Sly exclaimed, slapping his friend out of his trance.

"Uh, where am I?"

". . . Anyone get the number of that shooting star?" Murray ask, appearing and sitting up.

"Murray . . ?" The familiar voice of Penelope asked as she sat up.

It was then that the rest of the group started to wake up, but not before groaning in pain or disapproval as they sat up, then stood to their feet. Among them was Guru and Ms. Morris, shaking off their own daze of waking up on the ground. Seeing that it was too dark to see where they were, they did the only thing they could do when in a situation like this: make sure everyone was alright and see if they can find anyone to help them.

"Is everyone alright?" Guru asked, then after receiving answers, noticed that there were small darkened buildings around them. "Was there a powered outage?"

"Seems so, but there's one thing that's bugging me." Ms. Morris commented, looking around, but couldn't find anything familiar. "Where are we?"

It was at that exact moment that the clouds in the sky parted to make way for the moon to shine it's light and allow the group to see fully well where they were, but become shocked by what was next to see. It appeared to a small boomtown like one would see in history books, documentaries on television, and even in Old Western movies that appeared to be void of anything electric. The buildings were mainly ten to twenty stories high with rotting wood and rusted metal, some even appeared to have filthy water with mold growing on the moist areas. There was a post office on the right side a few blocks down and a not-so-stereotypical saloon very close on the left, there was even a river flowing fifty feet away. It appeared that the group were all in an authentic Old Western ghost town and not some cheap Hollywood (even if they weren't in California) knock-off set . . . which led to one of the most horrifying discoveries this class would ever realize!

"Man, I just had this really crazy dream about a field . . . trip . . ?" David started with a chuckle as he finally woke up and stood up, but stopped when he looked around him. "Oh, that wasn't a dream . . ."

"Guys, I'm the last person to be superstitious, but I'm starting to think that we're in Old Thunder Mesa . . ." Bentley murmured in surprise.

"Y-y-you mean the g-g-ghost town we've heard about?" Mary asked in a quivering voice.

"Pretty much the very same, yeah."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Swirly commented, shaking as if she were in an earthquake.

The whole class (chaperone's included) were shocked and discomforted when they realized this and for a very god reason for Old Thunder Mesa was the abandoned ghost town they were hearing about. It was also the biggest tourist attraction that New Thunder Mesa had to offer, well, it was during the day at least. There were legends about being in the ghost town about never being seen again should anyone wonder around there at night. It was during an earthquake that caused the chain of events to lead to the abandonment of this once lively and prosperous boomtown. Though it was close to New Thunder Mesa, it was closed off with only town officials that had access such as the mayor, sheriff, or at least a licensed tour guide. Funny, the group prayed, with all of their might, that at least one of these were present, but they were on their own on this part. Needless to say at all, this was a _huge_ drag.

"Oh man, this is bad, very bad." Andy stated in a shivering voice.

"_Bad_, its way worse than that!" Victoria nearly yelled.

"If people saw us here without authorization, game over!" Swirly groaned I distress.

"Now, now, let's all just calm down and try to think." Ms. Morris soothed, though she was just as frightened.

Though Sly, like his friends and classmates, was trying to asset the current situation at hand, a sudden sound caught his ears and had his full attention as he was away from the group.

"Alright, the first thing we need to is . . ." Guru was about to say, but saw the young raccoon break from the group. "Sly, where are you going-"

"Sh!" Sly suddenly hushed, then looked around as if he were looking for something. "You guys here that?"

"Hear what?" Whitney asked, confused by what the raccoon said.

"I don't hear anything." Victor shrugged.

"Just listen."

Though no one understood what Sly was listening for, what it sounded like, or why was he even interested, but did as they were told and remained quiet so they could listen what the raccoon heard. At first no one heard anything, but before anyone could utter a word, a very distinctive and vaguely audible sound was heard. As soon as they concentrated more on the voice, it was clear that it was someone's voice; a females voice at that. Not only that, but it also sounded as thought this person was singing. The song itself was as beautiful and graceful as a cool Summer's night, but it was also as sad as the most horrific of tragedies if ever there was in their lives. The class found themselves entranced by this song so much, that they began to follow the sound to its source as if they were all in a trance. As they walked through the deserted ghost town, they saw a lot of things that have been long since abandoned: the mining tunnels, nearly crumbled landscape and there was even a plaque with No. 39 on it on one of the caves with a shovel and pick-axe crossed over:

**These minors were told**

**About digging too fast**

**They lost all their gold **

**In a dynamite blast**

It was only after a few minuets that the group found themselves at the foot of a small hill, which appeared to have large Victorian-style mansion that over-looked all of Old Thunder Mesa on top.

"Bentley, is that what I think it is?" Penelope asked in astonishment.

"The Ravenswood Manor . . ." Bentley murmured in reply.

Everyone else (teachers included) were also gazed on in amazement as this was one of the most famed haunted houses in all of Texas; the Ravenswood Manor. Built somewhere in the mid-1800s, it was owned by the patriarch of the Ravenswood family and founder of the Thunder Mountain Mining Company himself, Henry Ravenswood. It was also on this hill that Henry lived in the mansion with his wife, Martha, and their beautiful daughter, Melanie. There were legends that surrounded both this very hill and Big Thunder Mountain, all of which end in the most horrific events possible. The problem was that there were so many that it was hard to keep track off, plus it a lot of them were complete nonsense. What was known was the legend of the "Cursed Mines" of Big Thunder Mountain and the most infamous of all, the Thunderbird. This was also one of the many place that the mysterious medium psychic that appeared one day, then vanished the next, Madame Leota. Whether she was a friend of Henry or Martha, it remains unknown, but it was she that foretold the events to follow that would rapture all of (Old) Thunder Mesa. It was at that exact moment that the class caught sight of a shadowy figure atop the hill that appeared to peering at the down at them, but it was hard to tell whether it was a male or female.

"Hello, who's up there, can you help us?" Guru called to the figure, who remained quiet. "Hello, can you hear what I say?"

The figure still remained eerily silent, standing completely still as it peered at them, then turned around and vanished into the mansion.

"Hey, wait!" Sly shouted, starting to give chase as there was something about this figure that reminded him about the dreams he was having.

"Okay, just where do you think you're going?" Neyla demanded, appearing in front of the raccoon.

"What's it look like, I'm going to see who or what's up there."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound realistic." Harry stated, appearing beside the purple tiger.

"We don't even know if this old hill is stable." Mary added.

"Well, what do you guys suppose we do?" The raccoon demanded. "Just wait here till morning?"

"Besides, if someone else is here, then maybe they can help us get out of here." Carmelita added, which swayed most of the class.

"Well, I admit that it's not the best plan, but it's the only option we have." Ms. Morris sighed a bit.

"Then it's decided, up the hill." Guru stated.

Though most of the class, plus the chaperones, started to make their way up the hill, Neyla, Harry, Cherry, Carlos, and Chelsea remained where they were.

"You guys coming?" Penelope asked.

"No way, girl!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"I'm not going anywhere near that old relic." Neyla started in disgust.

"That goes double for me." Harry said with his arms crossed.

"And triple for mois." Cherry added with her hands on her hips.

"Would never go up there, even if you paid me to." Carlos finished with his hands up.

"It's fine, Penelope, let them go." Sly called out. "They want to stay in the dark, desolate ghost town, of which no one is ever seen again at night, who're we to say otherwise."

Upon hearing what the raccoon said started to make the wish that they hadn't said any of anything. The five looked around and remembered that the only light was from the moon and that the exit was half a mile from where they stood. It was also from what they heard from crickets, wolves, coyotes, or even the wind, which had chills running up and down their spines. Maybe waiting wasn't such a good idea anyway.

"On second thought, they make a persuasive argument." Carlos stated rather quickly.

"Indeed they do." Neyla added.

"Wait for us, guys!" Harry exclaimed as the five raced to catch up with the rest of the class.

Upon reaching the top of the hill and in front of the abandoned mansion, they saw that there was a plaque with the words, "_Built_ _1849_", etched onto it. Around the property, the grounds appeared to be unattended that was vastly overgrown with weeds and scattered with other types of dead vegetation. As they progressed forward, the class saw a washed out bridge and a lift hill drop of Big Thunder Mountain. Upon entering the grounds of the mansion, a tune of a music box was heard (a very familiar one to Sly and his friends at that) the class heard a loud screech, which came from a rather large bat that appeared to be guarding a box. There was also another plaque on the wall that was etched in was apparently a foreign language: _Non_ _Omnis_ _Moriar_.

"What does that say?" Murray asked, squinting his eyes to see better.

"_Non_ _Omnis_ _Moriar_." Penelope read aloud with a slight accent.

"What's that mean, science team?" Dimitri asked in his jive talk.

"It means "I shall not die completely". Bentley translated, which confused everyone, but wasn't asked for any more.

Walking on, the class caught sight of a derelict gazebo, which stood out on the lawn and had a tea set on a table and a music box that was the source of the tune everyone was hearing. Listening to the tune closer, Sly and his friends knew for a fact that they heard it somewhere before, but where was it; they needed lyrics to come with a result. Continuing on, the class found themselves in front door of the mansion, which made most of the class even more hesitant as they looked around for the figure.

"Well, no one's around and it looks as though the door is locked . . ." Swain said, when suddenly the door slowly creaked open. ". . . Or maybe not."

"Well, looks like we have no choice." Guru stated, leading the class into the mansion.

As they made their way inside, the class saw that they were in a foyer of the mansion, which was lined with dark wood panelling and contained a very dusty chandelier and two mirrors. It was then that the door had suddenly slammed shut, causing everyone to jump and yelp.

"Must've been the wind, I'll get it." Guru said as he and Sly went to work on it. "This is strange."

"What's wrong?" Sheila asked, recovering from her shock.

"The door's stuck." Sly replied.

"Must be jammed, here, let me help." Roger said.

"Me too." Murray added, assisting his friends and teacher.

Carmelita, Neyla, Carlos, Harry, Peng, and even Cherry aided in trying to pry the door open, but their all their efforts were all for nothing as the door remained shut.

"You guys also feeling _déjà_ _vu_?" Carmelita whispered to the raccoon and hippo.

"So it's not just me then." Sly deducted.

"Oh yeah, "The Murray" feels something about this house." Murray stated, then as he looked up, his eyes widened and his pink sling began to pale. "G-g-guys . . . look up there . . ."

Everyone noticed how shaken up the hippo was and were about to ask what was wrong, but as they followed where he was (shakily) pointing and staring at. As soon as they saw what Murray was looking at, the color paled on their skin and fur as well! There, written on the ceiling above them in bright red letters, was some sort of message that read: Welcome, Curious Friends. Where'd that come from? Everyone present knew, for a fact, that this message was _not_ there when they entered the mansion. That, however wasn't what was bothering them, what was really bothering them was the message itself was smeared in a strange red liquid that didn't seem at all to be paint.

"Is that-is that . . . _blood_?" Andy asked fearfully.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." Ms. Morris spoke up, trying to keep everyone calm. "It's probably our imagination playing tricks on us or something."

"My money's on "or something". Peter murmured to Carlos.

"Good evening."

At the sound of this voice, everyone froze as if they were in a blizzard storm in the a North or South Pole. Was it their imagination

"Oh yeah, _déjà_ _vu_." Dimitri stated quietly.

"To the max." Penelope added.

"Agreed." Peng whispered.

"Who said that?" Guru asked, but received many answers that it wasn't from anyone in the class.

"It sounds like it's coming from the walls." Bentley said rather calmly, almost as if he went trough something similar.

"_Where hinges creak in odorless chambers . . . Where strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls . . . Where candle lights flicker where the air is deathly still . . . This is Phantom Manor . . ._"

"Ph-ph-phantom Manor?" Andy, Peter, Iggy, Chelsea, Mary, Swirly, Kel, and Cherry mumbled in fright.

It was at that moment that everything what the voice said began to happen as the class heard creaking from all around, candle lights flickering on and of, though there was no breeze present whatsoever, and there were even moans from all around them in the most horrid voices ever. It was a few minuets later that it suddenly stopped as it started, leaving the foyer eerily quiet as if nothing happened.

"Hello, is anyone there?" Sly called out, though it was a few minuets after that he got a reply.

"_Welcome! Curious friends, you may not believe it, but beauty once lived in this house . . . And beauty lives here still . . . Show yourself!_"

for some strange reason, the voice reminded the class a lot of Vincent Price, it was certainly the perfect setting for such a famous horror icon. It was also safe to say that this house was indeed, without a doubt what so ever, a haunted house. But the one thing on everyone's mind was what he meant about beauty and why it still lives here.

"I don't know what that was . . . " Mary spoke up as soon as she passed her shock. "But what did he mean beauty and who's suppose to show themselves, we're right here."

"Uh, guys, I think there's something wrong with this mirror . . ." Carmelita spoke up, which gathered everyone's attention.

The vixen was right in front of the mirror, but what it showed was definitely _not_ her own reflection. Instead of wearing her street clothes, the "reflection" wore an old-fashioned bridal dress with a transparent veil over her head and was holding a bouquet of flowers in hand. It was also at that moment that the disembodied voice spoke again.

"_Lovely, isn't she?_"

"Carm . . . I see your face . . . I see your hair . . . but I don't see your clothes . . ." Iggy murmured in shock.

it was then at that exact moment that something happened that spooked the class; the "reflection" began to _step_ out of the mirror! This caused the class to jump back in shock as the "reflection looked at them, but stopped as soon as her eyes fell upon Sly. The raccoon realized that he recognized the "reflection" and not just because she look a lot like Carmelita (which made her a goddess in his eyes). She was the someone who was singing as she allowed the class to hear her symphonic voice, but that wasn't all. She was the female in his dreams! Perhaps the gem he had was trying to tell him that this person need the help of him and his friends. Before anything else could be said or done, the "reflection" vanished Into thin air and the mirror returned to normal.

"Guy, I think that was Melanie Ravenswood." Bentley stated after he remembered to breathe.

"Hold on, _that_ was _Melanie_ _Ravenswood_?" Neyla questioned skeptically.

"Wow, she looked a lot like . . . Carmelita." Victor said as all eyes fell upon the vixen in question.

"I know, that makes all the more beautiful." Sly said, gaining a blush from his crush (rhyme).

"Flattery will get you nowhere, ringtail." Carmelita retorted.

Their moment was interrupted as the mysterious voice spoke back up.

"_Come, I have more beauty to show you._"

"Hold on, you . . . you're the figure that haunts this mansion." Sly stated as soon as her realized who the voice was. "You're the Phantom of Ravenswood Manor!"

"Ph-ph-phantom?" Bentley, Murray, Dimitri, and Penelope whimpered

This came to a shock for the class as the voice chuckled once more and spoke up.

"_Indeed I am, young man, indeed I am._"

"Listen you, I don't know game you're playing at, but we won't be a part of it!" Ms. Morris shouted angrily.

"I think what me colleague is trying to say is that we demand that you let us leave this instant!" Guru stated sternly at the currently unseen Phantom.

"_I'm afraid it's a little too late for that._"

"Of Course it is." Swirly mumbled fearfully.

"Uh . . . pretty please?" Chelsea almost begged.

"_Allow me to assure that none of you will be harmed._"

"Good, I was actually worried for a second." Victoria sighed a bit.

"_But you will not be released . ._ ."

"Knew there was a catch." Roger grumbled.

"_Until you all have seen the beauty of this house._"

"You mean like a tour?" Victor asked.

"_Precisely, my friends and I rarely have any visitors . . . ones that are alive that is . . ._"

The voice ended its speech with a sinister chuckle, which creeped out most of the class and teachers, but reminded Sly and his friends of another "tour" they once took not too long ago.

"Hold that thought; huddle!" Sly called to his friends.

The others, including the teachers, mistook this as a group thing and joined into their conversation.

"Okay, don't know what you guys are up to." Harry stated in a whisper. "But I think I speak for us all when I say we want to get out of here!"

Many agreed with the lion on his suggestion, but not everyone shared his opinion.

"Look, guys, we know that many of you don't want to be here." Bentley said.

"Straight up!" David commented.

"But we don't have much of a choice." Penelope continued.

"Plus, you all heard voice of no-body-ghosty." Dimitri reminded for the group.

"We can't leave until we take a "tour" of the mansion." Peng added.

"I don't care what that creep said, I want to leave!" Cherry pleaded, which wasn't like the Cherry anyone knew.

"As much as I want, and really want to, we don't have that much options at the moment." Carmelita stated, which couldn't be anymore true.

"I can't say this for all of you guys, but I think my friends and I were suppose to come here." Sly spoke up, which confused everyone, including his friends.

"What do yo mean, Sly?" Guru asked, not understanding what his student was saying.

"I think it has something to do with . . . hold on, let me see if I still have it . . . ah, here it is!"

The raccoon then took the sapphire gem, which had somehow appeared back into his pocket when it was in his hand earlier. Guru took the time to inspect the gem to make sure it wasn't as synthetic like glass or plastic and saw that is was authentic. Everyone was in their own little world as they were enamored in their admiring visions of the gem.

"Wow, it really is a pure sapphire gem."

"OMG, what a gorgeous gem, let me see that!" Mary squealed, swiping the sapphire from the raccoons hand, the did a pose with the gem. "What do you guys think, looks good, doesn't it?"

"Gotta admit, it really does." Swirly commented, which brought a few nods.

"Gimme that, is something wrong with you, need I remind everyone that it's because of this thing that we're trapped here?!" Peter demanded after taking the gem from the tigress. "And I think I know what's happened . . ."

"Really, well, rivet us, "Professor" Ponikvar." Carlos urged bitterly.

"Well, what if as soon as it saw we were eavesdropping on Sly, this gem decided to send us to the most haunted place in Texas as punishment."

Everyone merely stared at the cat with skeptical glances and looks of annoyance, typical thinking when it came to Peter Ponikvar.

"You know something, Peter, you're absolutely right." Neyla said as if she realized something.

"Wait, I am?" The cat asked in amazement.

"Yeah, you are crazy." Roger dead-panned, which caused everyone to chuckle and giggle and made the cat huff.

"Nothing wrong with that sometimes." Whitney interjected, causing Peter to blush.

"I'll take that, thank you." Sly said after taking the gem from Peter, then resume his explanation. "As I was saying, I think this gem was only suppose to take me and my friends here."

"But thanks for reminding us that you guys were listening in on our conversation." Carmelita said in a disappointed voice.

"And we know, you could explain it, it'll have to wait till we get out of here." Sly said before anyone else could say anything.

"That's still not cool, guys." Murray added sternly.

"Please continue if you may, Sly." Penelope encouraged to the raccoon.

"That I shall do, as _everyone_ knows now, I've had these really weird dreams lately and I think it has something to do with this mansion. I also think this gem was trying to tell me that Melanie may need my help as well as my friends, you guys were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, but that's called "karma". And seeing as we're already here, we, including all of you now, have to take the Phantom's tour."

"Okay, but what

"What, are you serious?!" Kel shouted in disbelief, which made the group hush at him.

"_I think it's imperative to remind you all that the dead have ears as well!_"

"Sorry, won't take any longer!" Sly called out, then turned back to the group. "Look, I know you all want to get out of here, but it really looks like we have no choice, you guys in?"

Though no one, not even the teachers, wanted any part in this so-called "tour" of the mansion, they knew it was the only way they'd be able to leave, plus the spirit of an innocent girl was trapped within these very walls, they couldn't just abandon her. After a few minuets of thinking and couple of sighs, they all came to a decision and hesitantly nodded.

"Alright, Mr. Phantom, we'll do you're little "tour".

"_Splendid, right this way then please . . . there's no turning back now . . ._"

after that was said, the Phantom let out another of his sinister chuckles as the candle lights began to lead way to a room down the hall.

"Where have we heard that before?" Bentley mumbled to his friends.

The class began to follow the candle and into a large octagonal room that had ghastly looking gargoyle candle holders and four portraits on the walls; all of which were of a smiling Melanie Ravenswood wearing a different elegant frilled-sleeved dress, but wearing the same black boots in two. One was of Melanie on a small boat, wearing a blue dress, and carrying a pink parasol. Another portrait showed Melanie in a beautiful pink dress with white frilled sleeves and walking barefoot into a small stream. The third portrait showed her in a dress that had white frills, a red top, and blue long skirt as she was picking flowers. The fourth (and final) portrait showed Melanie in a teal colored dress with white sleeves and was having a picnic with a young gentleman, who was possibly her fiancé and was apparently a raccoon. The whole class felt captivated by the portraits, almost as if it were an art gallery one would usually find in an art museum.

"_Our tour begins here, in this gallery, where you gaze upon the sweet, innocent of youth . . ._"

"Hey, Sly, how'd you get into one of these pictures?" Iggy asked the raccoon and pointed to the portrait of the picnic.

"First off, Iggy, these are portraits, not pictures." Sly corrected as he neared the gecko. "Secondly, what are you . . . talking . . . about . . ?"

Everyone then laid eyes on the portrait and saw that the raccoon next to Melanie, who looked a _lot_ like Sly! The key difference, besides having brown fur instead of grey, was the clothes that he was wearing: a white shirt, brown leather jacket, a cowboy hat, blue pants, and a pair of brown leather boots. In his hands he held a ukulele and was apparently singing to her. Everyone could only stare in surprise, this couldn't have been just a coincidence; it was something much more. Of course, since these two looked like a raccoon and a vixen that were present and a couple, it may have been some sort of clue . . .

"Wow, he does look similar." Neyla said, looking between the portrait and the raccoon. "They're both quite handsome."

"Watch it, Neyla." Carmelita said, giving the feline the stare.

"Guys, this is more than just a coincidence, do you know who this is? Sly asked, though he didn't look at anyone or wait for an answer. "This is my great-uncle from the Old West, one of my cousins' is named after him; Tennessee Cooper."

"Hey, yeah, wasn't he the relative who vanished?" Bentley asked recalling having a conversation on the subject..

"Right when he was about to get . . ." Murray said as he began to realize something. ". . . Married."

This sudden realization shocked everyone's in more ways than they could ever imagine in their entire lives. They all knew that Sly's heritage involved being master thieves and only a slight few decided to settle down to start a family. To hear this was the last known area where one of Sly's relatives was seen alive was really starting to creep everyone out even more than they were a few minuets ago. The feeling of realization quickly passed as soon as he felt an all too familiar feeling of dread he had not felt since a few weeks, started forming in his stomach.

"Guys, I'm starting to get that sinking feeling again." Sly warned, looking around the gallery.

Before they could question what the raccoon meant, the voice of the Phantom caught everyone's attention.

"_Ah, but things are not always as they seem . . . could it be that this room is **actually** stretching?_"

True to the Phantom's word, the room itself _was_ stretching! Not only that, the portraits were stretching along with the room! As they were stretching, each of the portraits of Melanie revealed things that were too shocking not to be hallucinations: the portrait with Melanie in the boat showed that it was over a long vertical waterfall! The portrait with Melanie walking through the stream showed a sort of humanoid scaled creäture that was reaching its claws to grab her! The portrait with Melanie picking flowers showed that the flowers were above a grave . . . which had a skeletal (possibly it was the Phantom) digging itself out of the ground! Finally, the portrait of Melanie and Tennessee's picnic showed that the food was being ransacked by picnic ants and were being approached by a rattlesnake, scorpion, spider, and beetle.

"_And notice this . . . this chamber has no chambers and no doors, which offers you this chilling challenge: to find a way out!_"

Though it was loud, the walls echoed with the sound of the Phantom's maniacal laughter, much to everyone's discomfort.

"_Of course, there's always my way . . ._"

It was at that moment that all the candles in the room Had sudden flickered off, leaving the class in total darkness.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Roger yelped in surprise.

Almost in an instant, the room was then filled with the sounds of thunder and the flashing strobes of lightning. Odd, it was only partly cloudy outside, plus it was supposed to rain on Sunday. Also, didn't the Phantom say there wasn't _any_ doors or windows in the chamber? That, however, was the least of their worries as lightning strobed through the room. For some reason, Bentley, Andy, and Mary looked up and the tigress let out a terrified shriek. Looking to Mary, then looking up, they understood why she screamed in the first place. There on the rafters of the attic stood a skeletal figure wearing red clothing with a cape and top-hat; it was the Phantom himself! But that wasn't all as in his hand was a rope . . . which was connected to a noose . . . which was around the neck of a skeletal corpse! Obviously this was the corpse of the fiancé, Tennessee Cooper! The Phantom merely stood where he was as his laugh began to pick up until it became louder and more maniacal as a dreadful scream was heard, then as quickly as everything started, it suddenly stopped. The candlelight flickered back on and the laughter ceased, leaving the room quiet, if the scream had stopped that is. Everyone turned to see that it was Cherry who was the source of the scream, then stopped as soon as everyone was staring at her.

"Oh, heh, you guys won't tell anyone I scream like that, will you?" The red-haired vixen asked nervously.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Cherry." Penelope replied.

"Secret's safe with us." Andy assured with as smile.

"At least we know what happened to your uncle . . ." Carmelita murmured under her breath.

It took a few minuets that some of them were holding onto each other: Sly with Carmelita, Bentley with Penelope, Peter with Whitney, Roger with Neyla, Dimitri with Cherry, and Andy with Mary and Swirly. Upon realizing how close they were, each couple jumped from each other, blush in embarrassment, but secretly celebrating on how close they were to their respective crush. The only ones who didn't break were Mary and Swirly as they squeezed on the poor, defenseless Andy.

"Uh, girls, I need to breath or I'll die!" Andy wheezed from being squeezed.

"Oh!" Mary gasped, jumping back.

"Sorry 'bout that!" Swirly nervously whispered.

their moment was not meant to last as the voice of the Phantom spoke up and gained everyone's attention.

"_Oh, I didn't mean to frighten you . . ._ "

"Too late for that." Victor remarked.

"_Come, we must continue our tour, there is so much to see, so "look alive" . . ._"

After that was said, an opening appeared on one of the walls, which lead down a dimly lit hallway.

"_Very_ funny." Victoria grumbled.

"_And stay together, I'd hate to lose you . . . so soon . . ._"

"That would be a tragedy." Guru remarked sarcastically. "Well, let's get this over with."

Everyone agreed as the classed followed their chaperones into the hallway, unaware of what was to come.


	4. Facing the Phantom

Chapter 3: Facing the Phantom

* * *

Walking the down the hall, the group saw that it was just as unkept as the front yard and foyers with torn up wallpaper and dust and cobwebs on every corner. They also saw that there were slightly broken up windows so that they could see the wind blowing hard against the trees outside. Along the wall were more portraits: one of a knight on a stallion, one of beautiful young woman, one of an old-fashioned sailing boat, and one of a woman reclining on a sofa. The knight appeared to be a Medieval Englishman, who wore shining silver armor with a long cape atop his majestic stallion as they stood over a cliff side. The young woman appeared to be an Arctic vixen with long flowing brunette hair, who was standing in a Greek temple and wearing brown robes. The sailboat appeared to be a pirate ship, only without the black flag with the skull and crossbones AKA the Jolly Roger, which was sailing across the sea on a clear day. Finally, the reclining woman was a young panthress (though obviously she had no relation to Ma. Morris _or_ Sheila, but still beautiful), who had ebony-black fur, long curly brown hair, and was wearing all white pajamas. Though these portraits looked innocent enough, most of the class felt something wasn't right, which made the feeling worse when the Phantom chose to speak up . . .

"_As you travel past these, priceless-_"

Everyone came to full attention by the sound of priceless, but remembered that anything taken from this place might hold dire consequences.

"_-works of art, perhaps you sense a disquieting metamorphosis . . ._"

Sly and his friends already knew what was to happen in the next few minuets . . .

"Three . . ." Sly, Bentley, and Murray started.

". . . Two . . ." Carmelita and Penelope went on.

". . . One . . ." Peng and Dimitri continued.

". . . Zero." The seven ended, turning to the windows, closing their eyes, then sighed in unison.

After that was said and done, lightning flashed into the hall and the images of the portraits began to change . . . into visions of absolute horror! The knight and his stallion became ghostly as the knight's armor became rusted, his cape torn up, and the stallion became very skeletal. The portrait with the Greek temple went from brand-new to ruin . . . and the once beautiful vixen turned into a grotesque-looking gorgon; complete with snakes for hair as she looked as though she were snarling. The portrait with the sailboat now showed that is was sailing through a storm (which brought back memories to a certain seven) and looked as though it went through a shipwreck with the sails badly torn up. Finally, the portrait of the reclining panthress Changed as she appeared more vicious and feral-looking; it also seemed that she'd attack the class if she were really there. After a few minuets of lightning and staring at the portraits in horror, everything stopped and the portraits changed back to their usual appearances.

"You all saw that too . . . right?" Guru asked, then received a few nods. "Good for a minuet there, I thought it was just me."

"_Of course, it's only a trick of the light; the **real** beauty of this house awaits us farther up . . . There's a party in your honor and she will just **die** if we're late . . ._"

"Very funny . . ." Ms. Morris grumbled bitterly.

"In _our_ honor you say?" Sheila questioned. "She _really_ shouldn't have."

Hesitantly, the class, minus Sly and his friends as they didn't seem bothered by what had happened, continued down the hall. At the end was yet another portrait, only this one was full body and was labeled: "Melanie Ravenswood". The name said it all as it was of the young Ravenswood heiress in her wedding dress, looking as lovely as she was then. She was wearing the bridal gown that she most likely worn on her ruined wedding with a bouquet of flowers in her right hand and her left hand on a red chair and unlike the other portraits, the image remained the same. Upon closer inspection, everyone had to admit: she did, in fact, looked a _lot_ like Carmelita. The only difference was for Sly was that the living vixen present was much lovelier, provided he didn't say it out loud in case he angered Melanie. After turning the corner, the class found themselves in a large hall and saw the Grand staircase that led to the upper floor. Climbing up the stairs was easier said than done for anything could have waited at the top step, but as they walked up and reached the top, there was nothing and/or no one there except for old furniture that lined the walls. Above the stairs was a large unbroken window, which allowed everyone to see the now foggy landscape; now that _really_ set the mood for this haunted house. Continuing on forward, the group caught sight of a marble bust of a stern-looking female grizzly bear sitting on a shelf, which gave everyone the creeps. As soon as everyone shook it off, Andy suddenly stopped, which didn't go unnoticed by his friends.

"Whats wrong, Andy?" Harry asked.

"You guys getting the feeling you're being watched?" The cat replied looking around.

Another moment of _déjà_ _vu_ struck Sly and his friends as their feline friend was absolutely right; they were being watched! But not by a living person, not even by a spirit, but the marble bust of the grizzly bear! It stared and regarded the class, it even blinked its eyes as if it were a really person! It quickly switched to its normal position as the class whipped around to see if anyone else was around, but saw no one. After a few minuets of looking around, everyone shrugged, then continued forward. It was at that very moment that the voice of the Phantom spoke up.

"_And now, curious souls, the carriage approaches to take you the party and beyond . ._ ."

It was at that very moment that a hayride-like carriage appeared, rolling itself in the middle of the room, then stopped.

"I'll_ be leaving you, for now . . . But I'll be waiting for you . . . On the other side . . . Have a frightfully good time. . ._"

"And now, he's long gone." Murray bluntly stated.

"And being a cracker box at that." Dimitri grumbled bitterly.

"And what a gracious host he's been." Penelope quipped sarcastically.

Everyone was about to pile on, when Sly had suddenly stopped them . . .

"Ever heard the term "ladies first"?" The raccoon asked, bowing.

"Ah yes, how rude of us; ladies first." Guru added, bowing as well.

As soon as everyone was safely on the carriage, it began to close itself, then moved all on its own. It moved upwards into a dark space as the bridal figure of Melanie Ravenswood appeared with a candelabra in hand, singing a beautiful, yet sad tune to the class. Again, like in the foyer, her gaze stopped upon Sly; almost as if she recognized him from somewhere. It was then that a suit of armor that would usually be worn by a knight came into view . . . and it was moving!

"Uh, howdy?" Kel called to the armor, which did a little square dance.

"Talk about Sir John Wayne." Swirly joked, though everyone chuckled and giggled quietly.

Next to the suit of armor was a seemingly endless hallway, which made it very painful to squint. In the distance was the appearing and disappearing vision of Melanie, still holding the candelabra, which remained in view when she wasn't. It was at that moment that the sound of a piano as the carriage rounded a left side corridor into a conservatory with the piano everyone heard was present. It appeared that it was playing by itself, though there was a shadow of the pianist's shadow on the carpet, meaning it was being played by a ghost. Even though most of the class, including Ms. Morris, were a little creeped out by this, an idea popped inside the mind of a certain young hippo . . .

"Stop the carriage!" Murray suddenly called as it did so, hopped off before anyone could say a thing, walked towards the piano, then gestured to play. "Excuse me, may I?"

The shadow of the ghost looked at the hippo for a few minuets, then stood up and gestured for the hippo to play its piano, which he [Murray] accepted. Murray cracked his fingers right before he began to play a little number of light notes.

"This is a little something my dad taught me after watching his favorite movie, "King Ralph", so many times."

As he continued playing, the notes became harder and the sounds of unseen wind-instruments filled the air.

Murray: **Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**You sure like to ball!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**You sure like to ball!**

**When you're rockin'**

**And you're rollin'**

**Can you hear**

**Your Mama call?**

**Well, from the early,**

**Early morning**

**Till the early,**

**Early night!**

**When you caught**

**Miss Molly**

**Miss Molly's rocking**

**The House of Blue Light!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**You sure like to ball!**

**Yeah, Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**Honey, you sure like to through a ball!**

**When you're-a rockin' **

**And-a rollin'**

**Can't you hear**

**Your Mama call?**

Everyone, with exception of the hippo's friends, listened in awe as they never knew Murray was _this_ talented in singing or playing an instrument. Apparently watching his dad's favorite movie so much did give him some skills in an odd way. Murray himself looked as though he was enjoying himself with every key his fingers would press and his voice almost like a teenage John Goodman.

Murray: **Mama, Papa told me**

**"Son, you better watch your step**

**If I knew my Mama, Papa**

**Have to watch mt Papa myself!"**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**You sure like to ball!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**You sure like to ball!**

**When you go rockin'**

**and-a rollin**

**Can't you hear**

**Your Mama call?**

**Going to the corner**

**Gonna buy a diamond ring!**

**Would you pardon me **

**Kiss me, ting-a-ling-a-ling!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**You sure like to ball!**

**Yeah, Good Golly, Miss Molly**

**You sure like to ball!**

**When you go rockin'**

**And-a rollin'**

**Can't you hear**

**Your Mama call?**

Though the hippo stood up and walked away from the piano and gestured to one of his friends Toulon him, the music of the wind-instruments stayed playing. Sly took up his friend's gesture, hopping off the carriage and did a dance with Murray (**AN**: the same Ren and Willard do at the end of the Footloose 2011 remake). After finishing their dance, Sly high-fived and went back to the carriage with Murray, who hurried back to the piano and resumed playing . . . and boy, did he for crazy!

Murray: **Yeah!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly!**

**Good Golly, Miss Molly!**

**Yeah! Yeah!**

**Good Golly Miss Molly!**

**Yoooooowwwwwww!**

**Good night!**

After his song ended, the hippo struck a pose atop the piano with his arms stretched out wide. Everyone merely stared at him, until Murray's friends began to applaud, which escalated when everyone else, including the teachers, began to applaud and cheer for him as well. Getting off the piano, Murray did a few bows and wiping away the sweat he received while he was doing his last number.

"Thanks, you've been a wonderful audience." Murray sighed, turning to the pianist ghost's shadow. "Sorry 'bout the ending, I kinda get carried away with a lot of stuff."

The shadow seemed to regard the hippo for a few minuets, then waved a hand as if indicating that no harm was done. The ghost resumed playing his piano in the way it did before Murray did his little number as the young hippo climbed back onto the carriage.

"Murray, that was just . . . just . . ." Neyla began, trying to think of a word.

"Awesome!" Peter exclaimed.

"You're almost like a teenage John Goodman." Roger commented, giving the hippo a high-five.

"Never knew you could sing or play like that." Sheila said in awe.

"It was a surprise to see what you can do." Guru said, especially impressed by the young hippo's talent.

"What can I say, "The Murray" is one of many talents." Murray replied, trying to sound modest.

The sound of flapping wings and bird caws caught a everyone's attention as they looked back towards the piano. On a music stand next to the piano was a large, black raven with distinctive red-glowing eyes. It seemed to glare at the class and was about to squawk at them . . . until it met eyes with a certain blue-haired vixen. Carmelita glared right back at the black bird, causing it to shrink away in the darkness.

"Just try to say something; I _dare_ you." Carmelita growled in a low voice, but the raven remained silent. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Everyone, excluding a certain few, were both shocked and amazed to see Carmelita scare away such a frightening looking bird. Yeah, the vixen was scarier than Cherry when she was angry, but to have such a capacity like this was unexpected. Was it ever a wonder why she took after her father, Sheriff Alexander Fox, in personality?

"Okay, break's over, on with the tour." Sly announced, prompting the carriage to resume its course.

The carriage traveled down a corridor that was lined with doors and as the group passed each one, they were met by the frightening sounds of pounding, knocking, and shouting. It was as if whatever was in the rooms were struggling with all their might to get, but what really got everyone's attention was the last door . . . which had two skeletal hands clutching the top! Though the group learned that they should've expected, some most than others, it didn't make anything less creepier that it was. Continuing on their way, the group caught sight of a grandfather clock, but it wasn't like any grandfather clock the class (with the exception of Sly and his friends) ever saw. It was larger than any normal grandfather clock for one thing, it looked vastly demonic for another, and it had thirteen on its face as it hands spun backwards, while chiming all the way. As the carriage moved on, it entered a large rounded room with a fortune teller's crystal ball on a table . . . which had a severed, unnaturally green mist covered head of a woman inside! It was obvious by the green colored mist and her long flowing hair that she was a ghost, but this wasn't just any other ghost. This was the psychic medium known only as Madame Leota, who was mainly a friend of the Louisianna-based Gracey family, but was also known as a traveling fortune teller. This could explain why she was in another haunted house, in another state, with another rich/aristocratic family of value and business.

"Madame Leota . . ." Penelope uttered, causing everyone to look on in awe.

Everyone present were well versed in the stories of the Gracey family and their mansion, but never knew that Madame Leota was the one to get around. It was at that moment that the head began to move as her eyes snapped opened and began to speak:

_Goblins and ghoulies,_

_Creatures of fright!_

_We summon you now,_

_Dance through the night!_

Upon ending her poetic chant, sounds of feet cluttering a wooden floor echoed through the walls around them, almost as if they heard the medium's call.

_Espirits et Fantomes,_

_Sur vos fiers destriers!_

_Wscortez dans la nuit,_

_La belle fiancée!_

"What did she say?" Iggy asked in confusion.

"She said, "_Spirits and Phantoms, on your proud stallions, escort the beautiful bride into the night_"." Dimitri translated, which lead everyone to stare at him. "What, I am Francais (French), remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"Wait, she said something about a bride . . ." Mary spoke up. "You think she meant Melanie Ravenswood?"

"Maybe, let's keep listening." Sly said, learning never to over or under-think a ghost of a fortune teller.

_Warlocks and Witches,_

_Answer this call!_

_Your presence is wanted_

_At this ghostly ball!_

Well, if there was ghosts involved in this old mansion, then why not spell casters?

_Des douze coups de minuit_

_Aux matines sonnantes!_

_Nous valserons ensemble,_

_Macabre debutante!_

"I got this one!" Cherry spoke up, also being French, began to translate. "She said, "_As twelve strokes of midnight sound from the bells, we shall waltz together, gruesome debutante_"."

"Okay, not sure about most of that, but isn't a waltz a dance?" Kel asked.

"Yeah, it's normally called "Ballroom dancing", but who are the dancers?" Bentley wondered, suspicious of what was foretold.

The carriage then began to move once again as it exited out of the "Seance Room" and was moving along a balcony that looked over a ballroom. This especially got Sly's attention; this was the exact ballroom that he was dreaming about! This mansion was the same one from all the dreams he was having! He was right; the sapphire he had was trying to tell him about the Ravenswood Manor and that the spirit of Melanie Ravenswood needed to be freed. The way the ballroom was decorated would make one think that there was going to be a wedding with ghosts from the 1800s as guests. It was obvious that the wedding was for Melanie Ravenswood, what with all the legends and history of the ghost town. More and more ghosts began to enter the ballroom, bringing wedding gifts, then sat around the dining table were they were being served pieces of moldy wedding cake. Drunken ghosts were swinging perpetually from the chandelier above the table. Elegant dressed ghosts were waltzing on the dance floor as the spirit organist played the haunting tune on the ivy covered organ as wraiths arose from the pipes. On the staircase, in her beautiful wedding dress and singing with her equally beautiful voice, was the figure of Melanie Ravenswood as she stared up at an opened window. Standing in said window was the menacing form of none other than the Phantom, laughing at the would-be-bride. Though most of the group was eccentrically and utterly scared at first by the dark figure, everyone now felt anger and disgust by how he was laughing at poor, unfortunate Melanie Ravenswood.

"How could he?" Andy whispered angrily.

"She's obviously in a lot of pain." Whitney added just as angrily.

"Now I remember why this was my least favorite part." Kel commented bitterly.

"_Fantome_ _degoutant_ (Disgusting Phantom)!" Dimitri and Cherry sneered in utter disgusted French.

Gliding up another set of stairs as everyone found themselves riding the attic of all places . . . and apparently, they weren't the only ones there. Sitting in front of a mirror filled with the shape of a large as a music box played and a clock with a bade pendulum beside her. Again, this reminded most of the class of something that was Vincent Price-related since he was in the movie adaption of Edgar Allan Poe's the Pit and the Poe. Not only that, but the appearance of Melanie had changed! She was no longer the ravishing, young lady she was when everyone last saw her, but now was an elderly woman! She also appeared to be weeping in front of the skull-shaped mirror, obvious sad about the wedding and husband she never had, no matter how long she waited. Though most of the group was tempted to stop the tour and hop off the carriage comfort/consul the heart-broken, but decided against it; it could be best not to bother any of the spirits. That didn't make what they saw the less tragic as it looked or sounded int he least. The carriage rode through an open window in the room and glided down to the ground, which was about three stories, but before they could continue on . . .

"Stop the carriage!" Sly suddenly said, then hopped off the carriage as he looked around. "Phantom, get out here, show yourself!"

Though one might think that the raccoon had completely lost his mind, they were wrong; he was fully sane and in complete control of his actions. He did, however lose something over the course of the tour; his nerves! This thing that haunted the mansion mocked and laughed at the poor young heiress' chance of happiness that was taken away. Well, the raccoon, for one thing out of all things, had enough and was going to do something about it.

"Sly, what do you think you're doing?" Bentley questioned, shocked by his best friend's sudden behavior.

"Phantom! I know you can hear me!" Sly shouted once more, hearing none of the class or his teachers.

"What's gotten into you, Ringtail?" Carmelita demanded, hoping off the carriage.

"PHANTOM!"

"You called . . ?"

Carmelita stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes caught sight of something behind the raccoon, gasping in absolute horror, acknowledging that it was something horrible. The rest of the class, teachers included, gasped and stared in wide-eyed horror from what they saw behind the teenage raccoon. There, standing next to a tall, dead oak tree, was none other than the Phantom of Ravenswood Manor himself. Upon getting a closer look at the skeletal figure, everyone could see that he was even more frightening up close than he was at a distance when they were in the mansion. Though the specter relieved himself as the raccoon demanded, Sly kept his back turned.

"So . . . the Phantom has shown himself . . . or should I say . . ." Sly began, then whipped around and pointed at the ghostly figure. "Henry Ravenswood!"

This flabbergasted all who were present by what the raccoon just said; this spirit was the matriarch of the Ravenswood family and the founder of the Thunder Mountain Mining Company? This way too far-fetched to believe. How could it even be possible? Were some of the stories and legends true about Henry Ravenswood being the ghostly figure that was the Phantom? The theory was proven when everyone heard the Phantom let out a small chuckle, which escalated into a loud maniacal laugh.

"So . . . you've figured who I am." The Phantom smirked. "Sometimes I forget how "aware" you Coopers really are."

"Oh, you know about my family." Sly chuckled scornfully, no longer afraid. "But then again, you wouldn't know an ounce of what that means, would you?"

". . . What's that suppose to mean?"

Though his appearance was opposing and menacing, the raccoon stood his ground as he scowled at the skeletal spirit. It didn't make anything better as both Sly and Carmelita looked like his daughter and groom in a small way. Carmelita, seeing how the raccoon showed no fear at the demented spirit, felt that if there would be a time to make a stand; now was a good time to do so.

"It means you don't deserve a daughter like Melanie after what you put her through . . . You! Her own father!"

"How dare you?!" The Phantom snarled.

"How dare I . . . how dare I . . . How dare YOU?!" Sly shot back.

"_Si_, what kind of father or _any_ parent puts their own desires before their own children?" Carmelita added, standing side by side with the raccoon.

"Insolent children, do either of you know who you're talking to?!" The Phantom roared in rage.

"Perhaps they do, but I'm sure they'll get over it!" Bentley retorted, appearing beside his best friend.

"Creeps like you make "The Murray" sick to his stomach!" Murray shouted joining his friends' confrontation.

"Big-cheese-ghosty makes Dimitri gag on stench!" Dimitri sneered also joining in on the confrontation.

"You would call yourself a father after laughing at your own daughter?" Penelope demanded, looking oddly fierce then her usual shy stature.

"That is not how a father should treat his family, even after death." Peng chastised angrily.

After seeing the seven step forward to oppose the skeletal spirit, it made the rest of the class and even the teachers step off the carriage to stand by the seven. Sly looked around and it was safe to say that he was surprised to see that the whole class nodded to him, then glare at the Phantom without a care of what he could do. Unbeknownst to the group was a small glowing white fog began to form behind them and seemed to be approaching Carmelita.

"Now you all listen here, I don't need strangers telling me how to bring up my family." The Phantom snarled, though no one seemed fazed.

"And you think keeping that poor, innocent girl prisoner here is the answer?" Ms. Morris demanded.

"If you had an ounce of empathy, you'd see how miserable she truly is!" Guru stated sternly.

It was easy to see that their words were only making the Phantom angrier by the second, but no one cared as they all had enough of the specter's torment of not only them, but his own _daughter_. It was at that moment that Carmelita suddenly became tense, much to everyone's surprise as the vixen's head dropped, which wasn't a good sign. As if confronting a hostile entity of the long dead Ravenswood patriarch wasn't bad enough, Carmelita's sudden reaction was unexpected, even for a haunted mansion like this.

"Carm, you alright?" Sly asked in concern.

The vixen didn't reply, which really made everyone more worried, which escalated as the vixen began to approach the Phantom with her head still down . . .

"Hello . . . father . . ." Carmelita uttered, but with a another persons voice that no one recognized

This was a bombshell for everyone to hear from the vixen; wasn't her father Sheriff Alexander Fox back in Swallow Falls? Carmelita finally began to raise her head to look at the Phantom dead (figuratively speaking) in the eyes . . . hers of which were now glowing! Not only that, but her clothes changed from her street clothes . . . into a bridal wedding dress! She was even carrying a bouquet of withered/dead flowers.

"Melanie . . ?" The Phantom asked in complete shock.

"Yes." The Melanie possessed Carmelita replied in monotone.

"How is this possible . . ?"

"Good question . . ." Bentley pointed out, which everyone agreed on.

"I didn't want to believe it to be true . . . I wish that my suspicions were false . . . but you . . . my own father . . . how could you do what you did?" Melanie demanded in a tearful.

"I . . . I'm not sure what you mean . . ." The Phantom, or Henry Ravenswood, said as though he were trying to be innocent.

"Don't lie to me! I knew you were the one would murder my fiancée on our wedding! How. Could. You?"

Almost as if he were being backed into a corner with no visible way of escape, the Phantom spirit of Henry Ravenswood could hot it back no longer.

"That charlatan tried to take you away from me; away from our own home!" Henry tried to defend.

"That _charlatan_ was my fiancée and you _murdered_ him just so he wouldn't take me away?" Melanie questioned incredulously

"Y-you could have chosen another man, one who would actually settle down; in the mansion where we lived all our _lives_!"

"And we would have if you'd given me the chance to convince him . . . but no . . . you tried to sabotage my chance in finding love . . . and you laugh at me . . . how could you?"

"I-I . . . I was only trying to . . . to . . . my god . . . what have I done?"

"_Henry . . ._"

Everyone, including the Phantom Henry Ravenswood and Melanie-possessed Carmelita, spun around to see a bright-white (rhyme) mist appear, then began to form into an apparent canine figure . . .

"_Henry . . ._"

"Martha?" Henry gasped in surprise.

True to the spirit's word, the mist formed into the transparent form of Martha Ravenswood, who looked heavily like Carmelita's mother, Alisa Fox (Nee Montoya). She wore a flowing 1800s-era gown and a floppy hat, giving her the look of a southern belle.

"Mother?" The Melanie-possessed Carmelita asked, then ran to the ghostly vixen. "Mother!"

The possessed vixen embraced the ghostly vixen in a big hug; something they hadn't done in such a long time in two hundred years. After a few minuets of hugging, both vixen looked at each other, both having tears welling in their eyes.

"Melanie, my beautiful, beautiful little girl." Martha cooed in a motherly voice, then turned to the Phantom that was her husband's spirit. "Henry . . ."

". . . Don't look at me . . ." Henry whimpered as he turned around, not wanting his wife to see what he'd become, which surprised the group.

"I want to, there's no need to be afraid, please, look at me . . ."

Though he was hesitant at first, the Phantom slowly begun to turn around for everyone to see, but instead of the grotesque skeletal figure everyone's been seeing around the mansion,the class saw the middle-aged yet handsome canine face of Henry Ravenswood. Like most of Carmelita's part, Henry looked a lot like Sheriff Alexander Fox, only with a trimmed handlebar-mustache; all he needed was an old-fashioned big wheeled bicycle and he'd be complete. Henry looked at himself in a reflection from a puddle, then looked at his spectral wife in tears, then took her into his arms as they also embraced into a big hug. After a few more minuets of hugging, Martha took her husband by the hands and led him to their daughter, both of which looked at each other silently.

"Melanie, I know there's nothing that I can say or do that'll ever excuse what I've done to you . . ." Henry spoke uneasily, being unable to look directly at his daughter for a few seconds before making eye contact. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, but from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry . . ."

"I'm very angry for what you've put me through all these years . . ." Melanie murmured through Carmelita's mouth, then looked up at the spirit of her "father" with tears in her eyes. "But I can never _hate_ you, I love you, father."

"Melanie . . ."

It was at that moment that both vulpine embraced in yet another big hug, then looked into each others eyes with teary smiles.

"Besides . . ." the Melanie-possessed Carmelita spoke up, looking towards the class. "after all this time waiting, my love has finally come to me."

This confused the group highly; her love came back to her? What did she mean by that? What was she talking about? Where was her love? Everyone was starting to think that her fiancée would appear just like both of Melanie's parents did, but nothing happened. It wasn't long after looking around that everyone realized that the possessed vixen was looking straight at Sly!

"What, you-you mean _me_?" Sly questioned incredulously. "N-n-no, Melanie, you're beautiful and have the voice of an angel in all, but you've got the raccoon!"

Unbeknownst to anyone around, including the spirits of the three Ravenswoods, another fog snuck under everyone as it approached the unsuspecting raccoon boy . . .

"Look, I know you've been waiting for who knows how long, but I'm not Tennessee, I'm Sly Coop-"

It was when the raccoon suddenly stopped in mid-sentence and becoming tense like Carmelita did, came to everyone's attention, especially the spirits. Everyone became increasingly worried as Sly's head dropped and arms dangled on both sides, standing completely still like a statue. After a few minuets, the young raccoon began to slowly walk towards the possessed vixen, stopping a few inches, then taking her bouquet-holding hands into his own. This action was added to the many list of surprising things as far as all who were present could see . . . but that was nothing compared as the raccoon's head began to rise. A part from his glowing eyes, his clothes had also changed as well! He was now wearing the same grooms outfit as the hanging corpse from the stretching chamber, complete with a black cowboy's hat. It wasn't hard to see that Sly was now possessed by a spirit of the mansion . . . and it was easy to see who it was.

"Melanie . . . I've finally found you." Sly said in an unfamiliar voice with a southern drawl.

"Tennessee . . . is that really you." The Melanie-possessed Carmelita asked, eyes widened.

After a small nod and smiling into the possessed vixen's eyes, Melanie embraced the possessed raccoon in a hug neither had in a _long_ time, who returned the hug and twirled her around. After their hugging session, both raccoon and vixen walked up to the ghostly figures of the Ravenswood patriarch and his wife, albeit proudly. As soon as they were close enough, the possessed Sly nodded to the possessed Carmelita, then faced henry.

"Sir, I just wanted to know, I feel no ill will towards your actions." Tennessee said through Sly's mouth, which shocked Henry. "I love your daughter, it was just the train engineer in me that wanted to travel that made me want to take her from this little town."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked.

"I mean, I wanted Melanie to see how much of an adventure traveling could be and she as right about one thing . . ."

"Which was?" Martha urged on.

"She could've convinced settled down at the mansion if we wanted to start a family." Tennessee replied with all honesty. "That's I ask this, sir, may we have our wedding now?"

The patriarch Ravenswood seemed to consider something for a few minuets, then looked at the couple with the sternest of serious faces.

"I can honestly say that I can't answer your question . . ." Henry stated, which worried his wife and the possessed couple, but smiled. ". . . Because it's been long overdue."

This was probably the most joyous news both spirits heard all night as they both embraced back into a loving hug and laughed as they spun around. It was then that the sapphire in Sly's pocket began to glow once more and flashed a bright-blue color, blinding everyone in the process. As soon as the light died down, the group saw that it was now daytime. Odd, daybreak wasn't for a few more hours later. How could it be the middle of the day now? It was when everyone looked around to see that everything went through a drastic change! The Ravenswood mansion looked as good as new, the gash between the mansion and the town below was missing, and everyone present were now wearing Old Western clothing! Though some, mostly Mary, liked they way they looked, others felt weird and that they were in an Old Western flick. From the way they were all sitting down on lined chairs, the nice breezy day, and the possessed were standing on an altar, it appeared that it was a wedding. The theory was confirmed as Bentley and Murray were standing where the Best Men were, while Penelope stood where the bridesmaids would be. After the pastor spoke and both bride and groom agreed to their vows, was about to pronounce them a couple . . .

"Wait! Hold on! Time out! Just a second!"

Everything came to a screeching halt as all eyes went to the hippo, turtle, and mouse.

"Listen, it's in all that you're both tying the knot." Penelope started nervously.

"It's just, well, how do I put this?" Murray thought for a bit, trying to find the right words. "You two being in Sly and Carmelita, it's, well, it's . . . it's . . ."

"I think what my friends are trying to ask is that you possessing these two aren't permanent, is it?" Bentley asked, saving the hippo and mouse.

"Oh no, not at all." Tennessee replied reassuringly.

"In fact, we'll let them go after this." Melanie added, gesturing to the wedding. "So, shall we?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Of course."

"Carry on."

". . . By the power invested in me, in the Lone Star state of Texas, I pronounce this couple husband and wife." The pastor finished with a smile. "You may now kiss the bride."

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this . . ." Melanie whispered lovingly.

"Funny, I feel the same way . . ." Tennessee replied with a smile.

It was at that very moment that their muzzles met in their long-awaited kiss that would seal the deal on their marriage. It was at the same time that the scenery changed back to the current era where the boomtown was abandoned, the mansion in decay, and everyone back where they stood. Up in the air, the spirits of Melanie Ravenswood and Tennessee Cooper were still hugging and sharing a kiss for a few more joyful seconds, then parted and looked at each other with love in their eyes. Needless to say, this was one of the most happiest scenes anyone saw all night. However, when everyone looked back to ground level, they were met with the biggest shock in their entire lives. Sly and Carmelita, though no longer possessed were still holding each other . . . and they were KISSING! Everyone could only watch on as both raccoon and vixen regained consciousness. Both Sly and Carmelita's eyes cracked opened a bit, sharing a brief glance at each other, then closed . . . Until they both snapped open in shock!

"Ah! Carmelita!" Sly exclaimed in surprise, jumping back a bit.

"Sly! Did we just . . ?" Carmelita asked flabbergasted by the apparent kiss they were sharing.

Both sputtered for a bit, saying some things that everyone had trouble understanding, some weren't even words at all, then turned from each other as they began to blush several types of red. Everyone else couldn't help but smile at the two, because they were almost like Tennessee and Melanie in a way.

"I do hope you all could forgive me for what I've put you all through tonight." Henry said, approaching the class. "If you hadn't arrived, maybe we wouldn't have found peace."

"Well, I think I speak for everyone here that it wasn't the most joyful night . . ." Guru began, then smiled. "At least you've come to your senses."

"That's good to hear. Now, if you'll all return to the carriage, then I'll make sure you'll leave here safely."

"You're one of my ancestors, I have so many questions." Sly stated, walking towards the long deceased raccoon.

"I'm sure ya do, but I'm afraid I don't have that time to answer all of them . . ." Tennessee replied, then reached into his shirt. "But I'm sure this can . . ."

The raccoon spirit tossed something to his descendant, which turned out to be an old journal.

"Just promise to keep it safe."

"Thanks, I will."

"Hey, I know I can trust my friends and the teachers to keep what just happened on the down low." Carmelita spoke up, gesturing to Sly, their friends, and the teachers, then glared at the rest of the class. "But if any of you utters what happened, you'll make me very unhappy, do you get me!"

"M'am, yes m'am!" The whole class chanted in fear, falling into attention and saluting as if they were in the military, which turned the fiery vixen cheerfully perky.

"Good, moving along."

"Talk about Ms. Ironsides . . ." Neyla mumbled bitterly.

After everyone was present and accounted for, the carriage began to resume moving as it rode into a tunnel. The four spirits waved goodbye, but after a few minuets, Henry realized something.

"Oh no, I almost forgot!" Henry exclaimed in despair.

"What's wrong, dear?" Martha asked in concern.

"That path leads to Phantom Valley!"

"Phantom Valley, are you sure?" Melanie asked in shock, which earned her a nod.

"Tarnation, what are we going to do?" Tennessee asked, worry welling up in his transparent body.

"If we go now, we might be able to catch up with them." Henry replied, floating up in the air. "Let's go!"

With that said, the four spirits flew with haste to catch up with the class.


	5. Final Stop

Chapter Four: Final Stop

* * *

Everyone found themselves traveling down a dark tunnel, thinking that the worst parts were now far behind them. Though it wasn't a treat to see pass by a skeletal hound, which growled at them. Everyone merely shook it off, when suddenly, the tunnel began to fill with . . . music? It was at that moment that the group realized that they were surrounded by coffins . . . with animated skeletons climbing out! But instead of attacking anyone, they were all dancing to the beat, which seemed catchy enough; almost tempting everyone to join in. As the carriage moved forward, four marble busts came into view, which looked oddly familiar to a certain seven . . . which was confirmed when they each were singing!

Lead Bust: **As the moon climbs**

**High O'er dead oak trees!**

Sly took a glance at his friends, with surprise all over their facial features; they knew that song!

Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Busts: **Spooks arrive for**

**The Midnight Spree!**

Lead Bust: **Creepy creeps**

**With eerie eyes!**

Dimitri: **Start to shriek!**

Dimitri, Peng, and Busts: **And harmonize!**

Cooper Gang and Talking Busts: **Grimm Grinning Ghosts**

**Come out to socialize!**

Lead Bust: **When you hear the knell**

**of a requiem bell!**

Carmelita, Penelope, and Busts: **Weird glows gleam**

**Where spirits dwell!**

Lead Bust: **Restless bones**

**Etherialize!**

Cooper Gand and Talking Busts: **Rises spooks**

**Of every size!**

Though it was only part way of the song, Sly and his friends could never forget that song, even if it were a million year or the end of time. The rest of the class, however, looked at the now laughing seven in surprise and bewilderment. How did they know lyrics from the song? did they hear it some time before? If so, where did they hear it? Who sung something like that? Everyone made a mental note to ask them about it as soon as they found a way back and away from this nut house of a ghost town. It was then that the carriage rode through an opening, which led back to Old Thunder Mesa, maybe they should've gone this way in the first place. Though the old boomtown looked innocent enough, as any ghost town the group knew anyway, something didn't feel right. Though no one could put their finger on it, there was something off about where they were, which made things creepier when everyone noticed that there great rifts surrounding the carriage. And without any warning . . . (figuratively speaking of course) the town suddenly came to life with ghosts! which meant only one thing in particular . . .

"Guys, either we've taken a wrong turn . . ." Bentley spoke up in a low voice. " . . . Or we're smack dab in Phantom Canyon!"

This shocked everyone as Phantom canyon, which was a supernaturally twisted version of Thunder Mesa and use to be the turning point of the prospecting community, was even more haunted than the Ravenswood Mansion. There were stories that sounds of, besides Melanie's singing, the Old Western era of the town could be heard if one listened closely. It was when the thunder bird in Big Thunder Mountain awoke and caused the fateful earthquake that struck the land years ago left this portion of the town in ruins. The carriage came up to what appeared to be a ramshackled train station, with a figure standing before it which was a male ferret (who was unlike Kel). Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that this person was obviously a ghost since he was transparent, glowed a pale green color, and wore an old-fashioned train-engineer's outfit.

"Tickets! Tickets to the Underworld!" The specter announced as he threw mentioned tickets all around, which no one took.

"I think we'll pass." Ms. Morris declined distastefully.

It was then that the carriage passed by the old and decaying Old Thunder Mesa town hall where another figure, an armadillo stood, which was the mayor. It was obvious that this was the mayor from the clothes he wore with a nearly torn scarf that read "MAYOR" slung over his right shoulder and carried a large golden key.

"The Ravenswood mansion is house for about 999 spirits, but there's always room for a thousand, any volunteers?"

After completing his statement, the mayor let out a large, maniacal laughter, which bothered most of the group, but annoyed a certain seven . . .

"Welcome, foolish mortals . . ." The ghostly mayor greeted with a waved with a sinister chuckle. ". . . There's no turning back now . . ."

"Now where have we heard that before?" Sly sighed sarcastically.

"If only he didn't state out the obvious." Carmelita mumbled bitterly.

As the carriage continued on, everyone came to witness a ghost bank robber, who resembled an unlikable skunk everyone knew back in Swallow Falls, fleeing on a mule after a shootout. The sheriff was no help as he plainly ran away from the scene in the opposite direction, which made Carmelita growl in anger. How could the town's law enforcement run away from a petty thief? He was an absolute disgrace to what he stood for and sheriff's everywhere and in every time! As the class rode by, they had the complementary sight of Big Thunder Mountain; the same mountain where Henry Ravenswood began his mining business and the supposed lair of the Thunder Bird. Passing by a pharmacy, everyone saw the green-faced pharmacist, who was a male Gila monster, drinking from a very deadly looking medicine bottle that was filled with strange green liquid. One wouldn't believe how relieved (rhyme) Sly was that his father wasn't as warped as the pharmacist ghost was. On the opposite side of the path was a caved in saloon, with a few patrons still inside despite the collapsed walls. There was a bartender, who was a mole, behind the counter as he cleaned broken up mugs. There was a male snipe playing at the honky-tonk piano, which Murray knew he couldn't since everyone was trying to find a way back to New Thunder Mesa. On the stage was a female mouse, who looked a lot like Penelope, only she was a ghost and a show girl. As soon as the ghostly showgirl saw the group, more specifically Bentley, she gave a wink, which made the turtle blush and the live mouse huff. There was even a table that was somehow still intacked and with four ghosts who were playing a poker game; too bad they couldn't deal in Sly since he was under-aged . . . and alive.

"There you are! Thank goodness I've found you!"

Everyone looked up to see the illuminating form of the former Phantom, Henry Ravenswood.

"You know, you could've shown us a different way to get back to town." Guru pointed out with his arms crossed.

"I apologize, please, follow me." Henry said floating towards another tunnel with a silhouette of the Manor in the distance. Everyone found themselves, literally, riding blindly as they rode through total darkness; no one could even see their own hand in front of their face. There was a flicker of light, but turned out to be the form of Melanie Ravenswood, who pointed to her right.

"The way out is that way." Melanie said, then waved goodbye. "Thanks again for your help!"

"Don't mention it!" Murray replied, waving back.

The class was met by light as they saw that they were now traveling through a subterranean chamber that was lined with large, gilt-framed mirrors, but their reflections weren't the only thing they saw. In the carriage with them was Henry and Martha, but as everyone looked away from the mirrors, the Ravenswoods weren't in the carriage with them. The class looked back to the mirrors and saw that the carriage had changed into a one-horse drawn carriage as both the Ravenswoods looked them and nodded. It was safe to safe that this was their way of saying "thank you" as the reflections went back to normal. It was then that the carriage came to a full stop in what appeared to be an old wine cellar, which also had a staircase leading up! No one said a word as they got off of the carriage and made their way up the staircase, but not before a now smaller Melanie Ravenswood appeared.

"_Hurry back . . . Hurry back . . . Be sure to bring your death certificate . . . We're just **dying** to have you . . ._"

"Melanie!" Peng warned.

"I'm only joking, farewell." The ghost vixen said, vanishing into the night.

Upon climbing up the last step, the class finally found themselves outside, they were still on Boot Hill by the looks of it, but at least they weren't in the haunted areas anymore. Walking down the hill, everyone took notice of many humorous tombstones, which caused them to giggle and chuckle by what was engraved. Looking back at the Ravenswood Mansion, the class could see that the lights upstairs were on and two figures peered down at them. One of the figures appeared to be wearing a wedding dress, which meant it was Henry and Melanie as the two waved at them, them vanished. At the same time, everyone heard a lout heart beat, which ceased as soon as both Ravenswoods disappeared. Well, the deed was done: the spirits were free, the lovers were reunited, and now it was time to find a way back to New Thunder Mesa. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks; they had no idea how to get back! It had occur that they didn't know which way was the right way out of the ghost town; every direction looked exactly alike! If only some or at least one of the group had brought a compass or map or _anything_ that would lead them back to town. Everyone began to walk around and figure out, when Sly nearly tripped on something; thankfully Murray was there to catch him.

"You alright, Sly?" Murray asked.

"I'm fine, but what was that?" Sly asked as he kneeled down to see what he tripped on.

As he took a close look at the object, the raccoon could see that it appeared to be a small rectangular-shaped object that shined in the moonlight, meaning it could've something that was made out of metal. Sly picked up the object, then dusted off the dirt that covered some parts, then held it out for everyone to see. It appeared to be an old 1950s film projector, only it was missing the parts to put in the film, it also looked as though it were made entirely out of silver.

"Odd, it almost looks like a movie projector." Bentley commented after inspecting the object.

"Only without the parts to put the movies in." Carmelita added.

"Ten points to Foxy." Dimitri spoke, having watched old movies of his grandfather scuba-diving.

It was then that Sly noticed there was a small round slot in the back of the projector, almost as if something was suppose to be put in, which had him thinking for a bit. The raccoon dug into his pocket and took out the sapphire, then looked between the gem and projector for a few minuets. It was then that he realized that the gem could fit into the slot, but what would happen if he slid it in? Putting everyone around him in more danger was the last thing he wanted to do should anything go bad or seriously wrong.

"Guys, I'm sugar-coating it, but I'm about to do something really drastic." Sly stated walking a good distance from his friends.

"Sly, what are you doing?" Peng questioned, which caught the attention of the rest of the class.

"I'm not so sure now . . ."

It was at that moment that the raccoon placed the gem into the slot, then clenched his eyes shut, expecting some sort of calamity, but nothing happened for a few minuets. It must've been broken or just filled up with dirt to work properly, but those theories where scrapped when the projector shot out a light, which started to take form of something . . . or someone.

"Hel . . . lo . . . Hello . . . Hello . . . Is this thing functioning properly?"

Every looked to see that there was an image of an elderly Yorkshire terrier with short hair, handlebar mustache, and wore clothing that seemed to fit 1950s England, complete with monocle and fez hat. It was all a fashion nightmare on Mary's end as she tried hard not to gag at what the canine wore. Finding out what color anything was out of the question as the image was all black and white. Calling it an image was modest as it was more or less like a very fuzzy hologram. There was one thing that everyone was thinking though: who was this guy suppose to be?

"That's better, now I can see you all." The canine said with a smile.

"Um, who are you?" Sly asked out of curiosity.

"That's what we'd like to know." Guru commented, appearing to the raccoon's left.

"Oh, of course, how rude of me! Allow me to introduce myself; I am Mystic, Lord Henry Mystic, at your service."

The canine, now known as Lord Mystic bowed politely, which compelled the guys to bow back and the girls to curtsy in response.

"And this young fellow . . ." Lord Mystic gestured to his right. "Is my assistant, Albert."

Next to the terrier was a young monkey that appeared to be in his mid-twenties and wore a bellhop's uniform, complete with his own little fez hat.

"Hi, everybody!" Albert greeted as he smiled and waved to everyone, which everyone returned

"Okay, not to sound rude or anything, but how is it hat we're communicating?" Sly asked.

"Excellent question, what you have in you hands is a communication projector." Lord Mystic explained.

"Communication Projector?" Bentley asked, taking another inspection of the projector.

"Yes, a friend of mine made a dozen of these, but lost a few during his trip through America, how did you come across one?"

"Our friend here tripped over it." Penelope replied. "It was basically buried over here."

"I see, wait a minuet . . ." Lord Mystic said, the looked around. "I say, I believe you are all in Old Thunder Mesa by the looks of things."

"Really, we haven't noticed." Peter remarked sarcastically.

"Sarcasm is dolly noted." Albert quipped, taking actual note of the cat.

"We were kind, in a sense, teleported here." Carmelita spoke up.

"Teleported, but what if I might ask?" Lord Mystic asked out of curiosity.

"Well, by the thing that's giving the projector power." Sly replied, trying to think how he could show the hologram. "If I take it out, won't this thing turn off?"

"Oh no, not at all, these projectors always recharge every thirty seconds, even without a power source. Feel free to show me if you'd be so kind."

After looking between the projector and the holograms, the raccoon shrugged, then plucked out the sapphire and approached the hologram of the elderly terrier for closer inspection.

"My word, it's a Psychic Gem." Lord Mystic breathed in amazement.

"Bijou Psychique (Psychic Gem)?" Dimitri questioned in French.

"Indeed, the last time I've gems like this is when I last saw an old friend of mine. Perhaps you know of her, she goes by the name of Madame Leota."

This was shocking to hear, even from a hologram; this canine was friends with the psychic medium, Madame Leota. Just how old was this guy anyway? Was he immortal or just really, really old? Was he an old friend of the Gracey or Ravenswood family as well?

"Pardon me for prying, but where did you get this gem, young man?" Lord Mystic implored.

"Yeah, Sly, where did you get?" Murray asked, scratching his head.

"I . . . I . . . I got it from the Gracey Manor!" Sly blurted out his admittance. "In the backyard and for the record, I didn't steal it, it was on the ground when we were leaving."

"You took this from the Gracey Manor?" Carmelita questioned incredulously.

"You were all at the Gracey Manor?" Cherry nearly yelled.

"What were you all thinking?" Swirly demanded.

"Don't any of you know know about the stories of that place?" Harry strained a bit.

"Alright, that's enough!" Guru shouted, which got to everyone. "Alright, now then, please explain to us what you were all doing at the Gracey Manor?"

"Where do we start?" Sly asked, though it was obvious it would from the beginning.

It took only a few minuets as the Cooper Gang took turns explaining about their time at the Gracey Manor back in Swallow Falls, which ironically, allowed Peng and Dimitri become their friends, despite their previously bullying ways. It wasn't a complete shock for everyone to hear that some of the legends and stories were true; the mansion was haunted. Upon hearing about them looking for shelter, everyone started to remember just how bad that storm a few weeks ago was and pitied the poor, unfortunate souls who'd be caught outside. Realizing the few options the seven really had, no one could really blame them for finding the nearest place for shelter. Upon further explanation, it was revealed that the seven went through a "tour" of their own, only without an embodied spirit as their host, there were two brides without being the main topic, and no ghost town. They spared no expense when they added that their "Ghost Host" was the spirit of William Gracey, the spirit of Constance Hatchtaway nearly decapitating Bentley (who was still _very_ thankful he was a turtle), a difference with Madame Leota, and even about the "Swinging Wake".

"Intriguing, that sound like quite a story." Victory commented.

"I'll say, never would have guessed that the old shack was still "occupied"." Mary remarked.

"After tonight, I'd believe anything." Roger quipped.

"Me too." Neyla added with a sigh.

"That's quite the tale indeed." Lord Mystic thought for a moment. "I don't suppose it's because of the gem that you all ended up here, is it?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Sly bluntly said. "And I think it was trying to tell me about the Ravenswood curse."

"Ah, yes, that's a Psychic Gem for you." Albert mused with a smile. "Visions, transportation, and plenty of other magical properties."

"'Magical' he says." Victoria and David mumbled to each other.

"I saw lots of things, but I still completely believe it." Chelsea muttered

"Tell me about it, wish I brought my camera though." Carlos said, having actually liked the experience.

"And here I thought I had my phone fully charged a few minuets ago." Sheila pouted at her now dead (no puns, please) phone.

"Anyways, maybe you two could help else?" Ms. Morris inquired.

"Certainly, how could we be of assistance?" Lord Mystic asked, more than willing to lend a hand.

"Well, you see, we're kind of stranded here without anyway of getting back to town . . ." Guru explained, but couldn't think of anything else after that.

"We were all wondering if you could use the same process that brought us here to transport us back to New Thunder Mesa." Bentley clarified to make the short story shorter.

"Hmm, that would require to rewrite certain algorithms and find just the right frequency . . ." Albert calculated, considering like Bentley would usually do.

"So . . i-it can't be done?" Andy asked nervously, afraid they'd be stuck where they were all night.

"Oh no, it can be done, but it'd take at least a week for both machines to recharge, which I'll have to adjust." Lord Mystic explained reassuringly. "However, I will only do so if you'd all do something for me."

"And there it is." Kel groaned, rubbing his temples.

Somehow everyone knew he would say something like this.

"What do we do?" Iggy asked, scratching his bald head.

"Well, seeing as you all like adventure and exploring the unknown; I, Lord Henry Mystic, here by cordially invite you all to take a VIP tour of _my_ mansion."

"Wow, that actually sounds like a good deal." Peter said, all things considered.

"It'd be nice to have another adventure." Whitney added, making the other cat blush. "But just to be be clear, it's not haunted, is it."

"No, not at all, it's actually quite pleasant." Albert said in an upbeat tone.

"That's a relief, but we don't have to be there right away, do we?" Sheila asked, not in the mood for more supernatural things.

"I assure you all, that you can go back to your live as soon as you're transported back." Lord Mystic replied, which relieved everyone with a sigh. "I'd say you can be here a week from Saturday, is that alright?"

Everyone seemed to consider the terrier's offer for a few minuets, though they weren't in the mood to take another "tour" of another mansion, he did say that it'd be a week from Saturday (which was only a few days this week), then came to a unanimous decision.

"Okay, we'll take you up on your offer, now can you transport us back?" Sly asked, though eager to see what kind of mansion was in store, was really starting to feel homesick.

"Ah yes, of course, just place the Psychic Gem back into the projector if you will, young man." Lord Mystic instructed, then turned to his assistant. "Albert, if you'd be as kind to start the process?"

"Yes sir, right away!" The primate saluted, then vanished from to the side. "Stay together, everyone; this'll be a bumpy ride!"

"And Godspeed! I'll be seeing you all one week from Saturday!"

It was then that as soon as the sapphire was placed back into the slot that it began to vibrate and glow once more, only this time, the projector absorbed most of it as the light from the lens began to shine. It was exactly the same way and feeling that had transported them to the ghost town, only it wasn't as forceful or as frightening. It was quite the opposite; it felt both exhilarating and warm at the same time. It was only a few minuets later that the light had finally died down and everyone found themselves in the same room they were in when the sapphire transported them to Old Thunder Mesa. Not only that, but as everyone looked at the clock on the far wall . . . they saw that it was the same time as they were sent to the old ghost town! Did they just travel back in time or something? Realizing that there were other things that were unavailable to them in Old Thunder Mesa, everyone looked their own electrical appliances and saw that they were all fully charged and functioning properly as if nothing interfered with their circuitry. It all felt that it was one big, seriously vivid group dream . . . if it weren't for the fact that Sly was still holding the projector, with the sapphire still in the slot.

"Alright, now that we're back, what shall we do?" Guru asked casually, almost as if nothing weird happened.

"Well, I'm going back to my room, taking a shower, then going to bed." Sly clarified as he walked out the door, taking the projector and gem with him.

"Sounds goods, count 'The Murray' in." Murray said, following his friend.

"Room for one more?"Bentley asked rhetorically.

"Dimitri is needing serious beauty sleep." Dimitri spoke in third person, also exiting the room.

"Oh, and so you know, we haven't forgotten about you all listening in on us." Peng said, casting a glance at his classmates.

"But it's been a long night and we're all _very_ exhausted." Penelope sighed, giving a loud yawn.

"But rest assure, we'll be expecting explanations tomorrow." Carmelita finished, giving everyone a stern look that her father would usually have on the job. "We'll be holding to you, good night."

With that said and done, the vixen, mouse, and panda exited the room for some shut-eye.

"Actually, they're right, sleep sounds good right about now." Ms. Morris said, receiving no arguments.

After what they've all been through that one night, sleep was the only comfort as everyone exited the room so they could finally find some long, overdue rest.


	6. Story Entry

Epilogue: Story Entry

* * *

Once again finding himself in front of his computer in his room, Sly proceeded to type away on a document, which would be a new entry to his collection. After enjoying their last few days on the field trip, the class had the leisure of having a tour of Old Thunder Mesa, complete with audio as well as a tour guide. They the tour guide told the stories and legends about the old boomtown, along with Boot Hill and the Ravenswood Manor, but they acted surprised to play along. Keeping to their word, the Cooper Gang allowed the whole class to explain their reasons for ease-dropping in on their conversation the other night. They were shocked to hear that they were trying repay them for every time Sly, Murray, and Carmelita would defend them against bullies, and how Bentley and Penelope would help them with their schoolwork without any question asked. Dimitri, Peng, and Cherry even admitted that the raccoon was right that the way they acted two years earlier was childish and inexcusable, but everything was cool in the end. After getting home, Sly and the gang told their parents of their experience, but left out the part with the Phantom Manor, best not to have any of the families worried. Guru and Ms. Morris even kept quiet about the experience; how would it look if two fully grown adults went around talking about an actual haunted house. The one thing everyone hoped is that the spirits wouldn't be bothered too much should any ghost hunting TV shows decide to investigate. After looking up and down each page for any spelling errors, proper spacing, and correct punctuation, the raccoon clicked on print. This new story would need to have a title that would fit the feel of story behind it and be as compelling as his other stories. This story would be known as: "_The Phantom Manor_". After all the pages were printed out and accounted for, Sly stacked them all up in chapter order, then stapled them together.

"I think I'm starting to get the hanging of this." Sly mused, placing his recent work away.

"Hey, Sly, you ready?" Bentley's voice called from downstairs.

"Yeah, be right there!"

Sly had promised to meet up with the rest of the gang with Bentley to grab a few pizzas before heading to the arcade for the day, then help out at Murray's uncle and aunt's bakery. After taking a glance at an old map, Tennessee's journal, the Psychic Gem, and Communication Projector, the raccoon hummed a familiar tune that he and some of his friends would every October. As soon as Sly was gone, two words apparently began to write themselves onto his recent story:

**Thank You **

* * *

**And that, curious friends, marks the end of yet another one of Sly Cooper's supernatural capers. I'd like to thank all who followed and read through the whole thing, but don't think I'm finished here. There will be even more adventures for Sly and the gang, just you wait. Till then, curious friends, this is the King of 2211, wishing everyone Happy Holidays.**


End file.
